Lenders' managed loan auction process sees good response: Adlabs

Adlabs Entertainment has said there has been a good response to the process of auction of its loans undertaken by the lenders' consortium which is currently underway.

Led by public sector lender Union Bank of India, the consortium of lenders to Adlabs Entertainment is looking to sell the entire exposure of over Rs 1,200 crore. As part of that the bank has appointed BDO India to seek expressions of interest (EoIs) from interested buyers, according to a public notice.

"The process of auction of loans is under process and is managed by an independent process advisor. We do not have an update on the latest status, however we do understand that there has been a good response so far. We continue to extend full support to our lenders for an early resolution outside of NCLT," Dhimant Bakshi, Joint CEO Adlabs Entertainment told IANS.

While the last date for submission of EoIs was August 21, financial bids need to be submitted through an e-auction to be conducted tentatively on September 12.

"A consortium of lenders, led by Union Bank of India ('Lender Consortium'), of an entertainment company ('Company'), is proposing to sell its debt exposure in the company as per the terms and conditions contained herein," UBI had said in a bid document.

The company has been a non-performing asset (NPA) since June 2018. In its FY19 annual report the company said it has been working towards reducing its debt to manageable levels.

In a statement to the stock exchanges on June 7, Adlabs Entertainment said, "The company has received a notice from National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai bench on 7 June, 2019 via an email, regarding an application filed by one of the financial creditors of the company -- Corporation Bank to initiate Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under Section 7 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code."

Corporation Bank, referred the company to the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for a default of Rs 68.84 crore.

The company has also proposed to sell its non-core assets which will form part of the overall resolution and various financing and discussions with ARCs (Asset Reconstruction Companies) have been explored along with the lenders.IANS