Adani Seeks To Bid For All Of DHFL’s Assets, Piramal Protests: Exclusive
DHFL’s resolution process heats up as one bidder seeks to change its plan, while the other opposes it.
The resolution process at Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd. has taken a fresh turn with one of the bidders proposing to materially revise their offer.
Adani Group, which had originally proposed to bid for only the wholesale assets of the housing finance company, is now offering to buy all the loan assets, according to three people with direct knowledge of the development. The group is now offering Rs 31,250 crore to financial creditors, the people quoted above said, speaking on conditions of anonymity.
Apart from Adani Group, Oaktree Capital Management has also submitted a bid for DHFL’s total loan portfolio. Piramal Group has submitted a bid for the retail loan portfolio, while Hong Kong-based SC Lowy is looking to buy the corporate lending portfolio.
Adani Group’s new offer is higher than the Rs 31,000 crore being offered by Oaktree Capital Management, to purchase DHFL’s entire loan portfolio. The proposal was submitted earlier this week.
Adani Group is yet to submit a complete resolution plan to the committee of creditors, and has only expressed its intent to do so. The plan will detail how the group intends to ensure payment to the financial creditors.
Formal Complaint
Piramal Group, another bidder in the race, has raised a formal protest following Adani Group's decision to materially alter its bid. In a letter to the Reserve Bank of India-appointed administrator and financial creditors of DHFL, Piramal Group claimed that the decision by one of the bidders to alter its bid is in contravention with the process laid down by the committee of creditors.
BloombergQuint has reviewed a copy of the letter.
The timing and manner of the submission of the revised resolution plan points to an intention of disrupting and vitiating the entire resolution process being undertaken at DHFL, according to Piramal Group.
“Given that the unsolicited offer submitted by the offeree is not in accordance with the process provided for under applicable law, it’s clear that the administrator and CoC will not have the ability to accept, examine and/or consider such an offer,” Piramal Group said in its letter.
If the creditors and administrator consider the revised resolution plan, then Piramal Group retains the right to seek legal remedies, including withdrawal from the resolution process, it said.
Lenders led by SBI are in the process of determining whether such a change in the resolution plan can be allowed. But prior to that, they will seek to see a detailed resolution plan from Adani Group, the third person cited earlier, a senior public sector banker, said.
Mails sent to Adani Group, Piramal Group and DHFL administrator R Subramaniakumar on Saturday morning remain unanswered.
Promoter’s Bid
DHFL’s promoter Kapil Wadhawan has also proposed to settle dues of the financial creditors in full. This includes fixed depositors and holders of non-convertible debentures. For this, Wadhawan has sought to participate in the upcoming meeting of the creditors and access the company’s financial information.
DHFL was placed under insolvency on orders of the RBI in November 2019. The regulator also suspended the housing finance company’s board and appointed an administrator to run daily affairs.
The resolution process under insolvency has seen considerable delays owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. If the change in the resolution plan leads to further litigation by any of the bidders, it will add to the delays.
Lenders are currently negotiating with the four bidders who have shown interest in DHFL’s assets. A decision on the highest bidder is expected to be taken in the next few days.