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Lenders To Reliance Capital Finalise E-Auction Process For Bidders

The bid price of Rs 5,300 crore quoted by the Cosmea-Piramal consortium will be the base price for the planned auction.

<div class="paragraphs"><p>A shareholder speaks on a mobile phone while attending the AGM of Reliance Capital in Mumbai. (Source: Reuters)</p></div>
A shareholder speaks on a mobile phone while attending the AGM of Reliance Capital in Mumbai. (Source: Reuters)

Lenders of debt-ridden Reliance Capital Ltd. are believed to have finalised the process and rules for conducting an e-auction for the bidders.

According to sources, the e-auction will begin on Dec. 19, and it will follow ascending auction process.

The bid price of Rs 5,300 crore quoted by the Cosmea-Piramal consortium will be the base price for the planned auction, and in the round one, the bidders will have to bid more than the base value, sources said.

This is the first time that an e-auction of this scale and magnitude will take place for a resolution of an NBFC under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

According to sources, the decision in favour of ascending e-auction has been taken at the behest of LIC and EPFO, which together control 35% of the voting rights in the committee of creditors.

Reliance Capital had received four binding bids at the company level and the other three are Oaktree, Hinduja, and Torrent Group.

The Reserve Bank of India had on Nov. 29 last year superseded the board of RCL in view of payment defaults and serious governance issues.

The RBI appointed Nageswara Rao Y as the administrator in relation to the corporate insolvency resolution process of the firm.

Reliance Capital is the third large NBFC against which the central bank has initiated bankruptcy proceedings under the IBC.

The other two were Srei Group NBFC and Dewan Housing Finance Corporation. The RBI subsequently filed an application for initiation of CIRP against the company at the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal.

In February this year, the RBI-appointed administrator invited expressions of interest for the sale of Reliance Capital.