Maytas seeks time for Hyderabad metro project

06 May 2009

Expressing confidence that the beleaguered Maytas Infra could be revived, company chairman K Ramalingam on Tuesday today said the firm had sought six more months from the Andhra Pradesh government to arrange finances for the prestigious Rs15,000 crore Hyderabad metro project.

The company, promoted by the sons of jailed Satyam Computer Services founder Ramalinga Raju, was originally scheduled to manage financial closure for the project by mid-March.

"We see that the company is on a recovery path,'' Ramalingam told reporters in New Delhi. He added that he was not ruling out the possibility of stake sale. "We are not ruling out stake sale in future. We are not foreclosing any option as regard stake sale in future but right now we don't see (the need for) any strategic partner; we are focusing on a revival plan," he said.

He said the company is currently working out a revival plan and has already appointed SBI Capital Market for Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR). At present, promoters and promoter group hold close to 85 per cent stake in the company, he added.

The chairman said the company has an outstanding debt of approximately Rs1,700 crore and an order book of more than Rs8,500 crore, apart from the Hyderabad metro rail project. The order book has shrunk due to the global financial meltdown and the developments in the wake of the disclosure of fudging of accounts in Satyam Computer, he said.

"We have interacted with senior executives and we have been seeking ways to how to revive the company. The company has very good professionals, it can be revived, we have started evaluating the projects," he said.