NEW DELHI: Even as troubled Dewan Housing Finance Ltd’s (DHFL) promoter Kapil Wadhawan has offered personal assets to settle all claims by creditors, US-based asset management company Oaktree Capital has offered Rs 28,000 crore for DHFL’s entire portfolio.
“Many companies have shown interest but, so far, the largest proposal came from Oaktree to the tune of Rs 28,000 crore. The negotiation is not final, but we will prefer whoever offers to buy the entire stake, rather than in parts,” a source aware of the development said. Sources also say that there were other bidders, including Adani Properties, Hong Kong-based SC Lowy, and Piramal Enterprises, who had submitted a bid for DHFL. However, all these bids were for only part of DHFL’s portfolio and project specific. The deadline for submitting bids for the bankrupt NBFC was October 17.
Officials say that the final call on the matter will be taken once the core committee of lenders meets to hold discussions on the bids, which is likely on October 20. The sources also added that the company’s Committee of Creditors is scheduled to hold a meeting on October 26.
DHFL is the first financial services company which has been sent to the NCLT under the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC). As on date, it owed a total of Rs 83,873 crore to banks, the National Housing Board, mutual funds and bondholders.
Meanwhile, the company’s promoter Kapil Wadhawan, who is in jail in connection to a money laundering case, has written to the administrator appointed by the Reserve Bank of India, offering his personal assets to settle claims.
In a nine page letter dated October 17, Wadhawan proposed that he be allowed to transfer the right, title and interest in these projects to ensure a complete resolution of DHFL so that all the NBFC’s creditors could be repaid their dues without any haircut on the principal amount.