RCom in talks with Ericsson to settle dues outside NCLT

Anil Ambani-run Reliance Communications today said it is in advanced stages of discussions with Ericsson for settling issues related to unpaid dues outside of the insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings.

"We confirm that RCom and Ericsson are at an advanced stage of discussions to expeditiously resolve commercial issues. This will enable Reliance Communications to exit the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) process," an RCom spokesperson said in a statement.

The spokesperson added that the company is confident to "expeditiously proceed with its monetisation plan with Reliance Jio and overall resolution plan with the lenders, keeping in mind the interests of all stakeholders".

Earlier this week, the NCLT in Mumbai admitted an insolvency petition filed by Swedish firm Ericsson against RCom and two of its subsidiaries seeking to recover Rs 1,150 crore.

Ericsson had signed a seven-year deal in 2014 to operate and manage RCom's nationwide telecom network but has not been paid for the service.

Last September, the telecom gear maker had filed a petition in the NCLT Mumbai bench seeking liquidation of the telecom operator to recover Rs 1,150 crore that RCom owes it.

NCLT proceedings can potentially delay RCom's plans to sell assets to lighten its debt load.

RCom owes around Rs 45,000 crore to as many as 31 domestic and international banks, including over Rs 10,000 crore to a Chinese lender. Due to mounting losses, the company began to wind down its mobile operations from last November.

It was also not servicing the debt for many quarters before that as it was looking to recast the loans but did not materialise and since then many of its creditors had taken RCom to bankruptcy court.

This has prevented the company from closing sale of its telecom tower business to Anil Ambani's elder brother-run Reliance Industries for over Rs 23,000 crore, apart from monetising other assets including selling its sprawling Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) premises to the Chinese lender and pare debt.