Vishal Retail inks CDR pact for Rs 730 crore

Vishal Retail today said it had signed an agreement with lenders for restructuring the terms of the chain’s Rs 730 crore debt and the process would kickstart within a few days.“The agreement with our lenders has been signed and the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) process will begin within the first half of November,” Group President Ambeek Khemka told PTI.

“I am optimistic that we will finish the process in 100 days,” he added. Khemka, however, denied that lenders had imposed any pre-condition for the exit of the company’s promoter, Ramchandra Agarwal, as part of debt restructuring. “There is no such condition. The CDR is an open-ended business and any decision will be made only after the process is completed,” he said.

Vishal Retail has been reeling under a financial crisis triggered by rapid expansion, which was compounded by the economic slowdown, leading to huge debts of Rs 730 crore.

Its major lenders include SBI, HDFC and HSBC. The chain, which has around 170 supermarkets across the country, had stopped expansion. In July, it shut around 10 outlets and sought renegotiation of loans from its dozen-odd lenders.