Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL), part of the debt-ridden Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Group, has received 10 more bids, including from SBI Life, for its subsidiaries, sources said. Earlier this month, the Committee of Debenture Holders had extended the last date for submission of expression of interest (EoI) to December 17, 2020. Following this, 10 new bids have come in for Reliance Capital's assets, taking the total number of bids to 70, the sources said.
The key assets put on the block include its entire stake in Reliance General Insurance Company, the third-largest private sector insurer, and a 49 per cent stake in Reliance Nippon Life Insurance, a joint venture with Nippon Life, which is among the top five private-sector insurance companies.
Tata AIG, ICICI Lombard and Nippon Life have evinced interest for the profit-making insurance arm of Reliance Capital (RCap), joining several prominent financial companies from India and abroad in the race for RCap's assets. The final day to submit an expression of interest (EoI) was March 25 and the bidders will now get access to the latest information about RCap before they make financial bids.
Blackstone, KKR, and Bain Capital, among others, are in the race for its general insurance arm, and Bandhan Bank, Bain, and Dabur Investments have shown interest for RCap's 51 per cent stake in the life insurance business.
The junior Ambanis - Anmol and Anshul - were inducted on the board to respect the wishes of the shareholders who during the recent AGM asked the management to get fresh blood into the company by bringing them on board.
M-Cap of top 10 business groups went up by 46% this year.
More asset sales may be only way out, though most of the group companies' ratings have been downgraded and their combined market value is now a fraction of their combined debt.
Reliance Capital has two credit verticals -- Reliance Commercial Finance and Reliance Home Finance -- with a cumulative asset of over Rs 25,000 crore.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Ajit Mishra, Vice President, Research, Religare Broking, answers readers's queries on stocks they own or want to buy.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your stock market queries.
Ballooning debt forces more and more Indian promoters to sell out to global majors and PE players.