IL&FS gets over 30 EOIs for sale of its domestic roads vertical
10 Jan 2019
Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has received more than 30 expressions of interest for acquiring the group’s interests in its domestic road vertical, including its domestic EPC and O&M businesses.
IL&FS is undertaking an asset monetisation programme for the domestic roads vertical, which is handled by its subsidiary, IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd. The group initiated the asset monetisation programme on 18 December 2018 aimed at speedier resolution of the debt problem, involving over Rs91,000 crore.
The assets on the block include seven operating annuity-based road projects, eight operating toll-based road projects and four under-construction road projects.
The assets on the block include seven operating annuity-based road projects of about 1,774 lane km, eight operating toll-based road projects of 6,572 lane km, four under-construction road projects of 1,736 lane km, besides three other EPC and O&M businesses, and a sports complex in Thiruvananthapuram.
The road assets, classified under IL&FS’s domestic roads vertical and include the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) businesses, were put on sale as part of its debt resolution plan.
The infrastructure financing group had set 8 January 2019 as the last date for receipt of EoIs and has received over 30 EoIs at close of business on 8 January. EoIs have come from a mix of strategic and financial players, the company said, adding that the eligibility of the received EOIs is being scrutinised.
Qualifying and interested bidders will then be invited to review information on the business that would be shared with them, so as to enable them to submit commercial bids.
The proposed sale of the stakes held by the IL&FS group in these road assets may be carried out as a basket, individually, or as an undertaking, comprising all assets and businesses put on sale.
The IL&FS board had appointed Arpwood Capital Pvt Ltd and JM Financial Ltd as financial and transaction advisors, and Alvarez and Marsal as resolution consultants.
Any binding transaction for the sale of assets, as well as the resulting resolution plan(s), will be subject to requisite approvals (including the NCLT) before the transactions are concluded.
The board of IL&FS, appointed by the NCLT vide its orders dated 1 October 2018, 3 October 2018 and 21 December 2018, had submitted two reports to the ministry of corporate affairs on the progress and the way forward on 30 October 2018 and 2 December 2018, which in turn were submitted to the NCLT.
The board expects to achieve debt resolution through certain measures, including asset divestments, in one or more rounds, the group said.