The Debt Recovery Tribunal, Mumbai, has issued a fresh notice regarding the bankrupt Daewoo Motors India Ltd, placing the company's assets in the open market with the intention of selling the facility in the Surajpur Industrial Area on a piecemeal basis.
The 'offer for sale of assets' issued by the Khade Bapat Kabe Sinha & Associates, the DRT Receiver, on March 9, 2005, lists blocks of assets and has sought a reserve price of Rs 1,103.09 crore (Rs 11.03 billion) for the entire properties of DMIL, excluding current assets.
The car assembly plant, in which the world's largest carmaker General Motors was interested, is valued at Rs 565.44 crore (Rs 5.65 billion), while the plant and machinery in isolation seeks a reserve price of Rs 408 crore (Rs 4.08 billion).
Land and building and structures carry a reserve price of Rs 157.44 crore (Rs 1.57 billion). The offer for sale has sought interested parties to send in their bid on or before April 25, 2005.
Sources in the industry said that General Motors India, which had for long shown interest in picking the car assembly unit of Daewoo, had made a last-ditch attempt in buying it without owning up the Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) debt the company came with.
Industry sources said that Amar Singh, general secretary of Samajwadi Party, had in a meeting in Lucknow last week said that though the representations to the finance minister were successful, the final verdict from the Debt Recovery Tribunal, which in turn came from the Attorney General of the country, clearly spelt out that the dues to the institutions have to be repaid before the company is sold.
When contacted, a General Motors India spokesperson said that company was from the very beginning clear on taking only the assets of the company and was not willing to pay off the pending debts against the company.
General Motors is willing to negotiate on the price only after all the encumbrances against Daewoo Motors was cleared.
ICICI Bank, IDBI and Exim Bank have an exposure in Daewoo Motors estimated at Rs 1,000 crore. The long-drawn liquidation process of the Korean carmaker, which began in 2002, has seen many suitors withdrawing from their bids to acquire the company.
General Motors had taken over Daewoo Motors' operations globally but skipped the Indian arm of the company due to inherent issues regarding outstanding debts.
Subsequent due diligence and negotiations with the Debt Recovery Tribunal has ended in a nought and the company's assets are back in public domain seeking buyers either in a composite form or in piecemeal.
