MUMBAI: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has granted an extension of 90 days to complete the bankruptcy proceedings of Future Retail Ltd (FRL). The lenders of debt-ridden FRL had sought extension for concluding the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the Kishore Biyani-promoted company. The new deadline to complete the resolution process is July 15.
“NCLT on April 13, 2023, heard the application and granted the said exclusion of 90 days from CIRP of FRL and consequent extension for completion of CIRP till July 15, 2023,” said FRL in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday.
The resolution process has gained momentum once again after seeing muted response from bidders earlier. Several firms, including Reliance Retail, JC Flowers, Jindal Power, and UK-based travel retailer WH Smith Travel have expressed their interest to acquire the debt-ridden company. FRL, on Monday, announced that 49 firms have submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) to buy assets of the company.
The resolution professional has also filed an application before the Mumbai bench of the NCLT, seeking directions with respect to gaining access to the inaccessible stores and warehouses of FRL. The debt-ridden company currently has access to 302 leased retail stores, consisting of 30 large format stores such as Big Bazaar and FBB stores and 272 small format stores.