SBI-led lenders take Videocon units to bankruptcy court

Lenders led by State Bank of India have filed insolvency petitions at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against more than a dozen Videocon group companies that cumulatively owe about Rs 13,000 crore, a move that’s aimed at seeking a comprehensive resolution plan.

The debts have been grouped into four clusters to help streamline the process, three people with the direct knowledge of the matter told ET.

“Petitions have been filed by different banks but these are not yet admitted,” a senior banker said. The banks involved in the matter have appointed four interim resolution professionals (IRPs) — Divyesh Desai of Singhi Advisors, Mahender Khandelwal of PwC India, Dhushyant Dave, a cost accountant, and Avil Menezes, a chartered accountant.

Each of the first three has been given charge of a cluster comprising three subsidiary companies. Menezes’ cluster has four companies. They couldn’t be reached for comment.

“All those appointments are subject to NCLT approval although the court is likely to appoint them going by their track records,” said one of the persons cited above.

The subsidiaries include Century Appliances, Value Industries, Trend Electronics, Sky Appliances and PE Electronics. These step-down subsidiaries of Videocon Industries are engaged in activities such as manufacturing, sale and distribution of consumer goods.

ET had reported on January 18 that lenders led by SBI are likely to take Videocon group subsidiaries to bankruptcy court. They will also explore ways of asserting their rights over the assets of overseas units, which include interests in oil and gas, which are outside the purview of the bankruptcy court, bankers said. In January, the country’s largest lender SBI had filed separate insolvency proceedings against two flagship group companies — Videocon Industries and Videocon Telecommunications.

They were both part of the second list of 28 large corporate defaulters issued by the Reserve Bank of India in August last year. The Venugopal Dhoot-controlled group subsequently alleged that SBI made several changes to the original petition in the guise of minor alterations, implying that the original plea was defective and hence needed to be rejected, Mint reported in March.

Videocon Industries moved the Bombay High Court in February, asking for a stay on bankruptcy proceedings initiated by SBI at the NCLT.