Vishal Retail says stake sale, other options open for revival

Debt-ridden Vishal Retail today said it is not ruling out diluting chief promoter Ramchandra Agarwal's majority stake in the company but the final decision rests on the outcome of ongoing corporate debt restructuring mechanism.

The company also said that its lenders are expected to meet next week to decide upon further course of action regarding the process.

"All options are available subject to final decision of the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) mechanism," Vishal Retail Chairman and Managing Director Ramchandra Agarwal said in an email response to PTI.

His reply came in response to a query regarding the possibility of stake dilution to facilitate the CDR process. Agarwal holds around 63 per cent stake in Vishal Retail.

The company and its lenders approached the CDR cell late last year following the accumulation of around Rs 730-crore debts. The CDR process was started in November to streamline debt repayment and the company had earlier said it will complete the exercise within 100 days.

Agarwal said the company's lenders will hold further deliberations next week to take the process forward.

"The process is on and the last joint lenders meeting (JLM) was held between the participating banks and the CDR cell on January 30 where the proposal was discussed. The next JLM is proposed to take place in next week for further deliberations," he said.

Agarwal said the CDR is a time bound programme and will be carried out as per scheduled. He did not provide further details.

Regarding the resignation of Vishal Retail Group President Ambeek Khemka, he said the company will soon announce the name of the replacement.

"We have appointed senior accountant Anil Khatri as consultant to take care of banking relations which was primarily handled by Ambeek. We are looking for replacement from industry and will appoint someone in case we find someone suitable for the position," Agarwal said.

Khemka had put in his papers with effect from February 2.