Future Group offers to buy troubled Vishal Retail: report

Kishore Biyani's Future Group has made an offer for distressed Vishal Retail Ltd that could derail a bid by TPG Capital Ltd to acquire the troubled company, the Mint newspaper reported today quoting an unnamed person familiar with the bid. The paper added that it couldn't independently confirm whether such an offer had been made by Biyani and if so whether it would result in a deal.

Biyani declined to confirm or deny the move. ''I am not saying anything on that (topic). I am not commenting,'' he said.

TPG had obtained the approval of lenders to purchase Vishal in March. The Indian retailer's board had last month approved a non-binding, non-exclusive memorandum of understanding for talks with TPG.

Amol Jain, director of TPG, declined to comment, while Vishal's managing director Ram Chandra Agarwal denied that there was any proposal from the Future Group.

Earlier reports had said that the Chennai-based Shriram Group would acquire Vishal's retail business, and TPG would pick up the wholesale division. Vishal told the Bombay Stock Exchange that it wasn't in talks with the Shriram Group.

Delhi-headquartered Vishal's bankers, including State Bank of India, HDFC Bank Ltd and ING Vysya Bank Ltd among others, are currently engaged in the restructuring of debt amounting to Rs730 crore.