Two independent directors of debt-ridden Future Enterprises resign

Debt-ridden Future Enterprises Ltd (FEL) on Monday said two independent directors -- Anand Chndrasekaran and Malini Chopra -- have resigned from the board of the company.

Both of them cited an increase of workload as among the reasons for their resignations, which is effective from Monday, the firm said in a regulatory filing.

The development comes days after FEL defaulted on a payment of Rs 2,835.65 crore to various banks and lenders.

Citing the reasons, Chndrasekaran said it was "due to increase of workload in recent role" and added he "would not be in position to devote time for discharging my responsibilities as Independent Director of the Company".

Chopra said she took the decision "due to the heavy work-load in my other professional ventures and my inability to devote reasonable time and effort in discharging my duties towards Future Enterprises Ltd as an Independent Director."

Several Future Group companies, including FEL, have entered into agreements with their respective lenders in terms of an RBI circular dated August 6, 2020, in which a resolution framework for COVID-related stress was announced.

The group's leading company Future Retail Ltd too on Friday said it has missed the due date for repayment of Rs 5,322.32 crore to lenders on account of the ongoing litigation with e-commerce major Amazon and other related issues.

FEL is part of the Rs 24,713-crore deal announced by Future Group in August 2020 under which it is to sell 19 companies operating in retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing segments to Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL).

All 19 companies would be consolidated into one entity -- FEL -- and then transferred to RRVL.

Future Group companies will be conducting meetings of their respective shareholders and creditors between April 20 to April 23, 2022 to seek their approval for the Rs 24,713 crore deal.