Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL), the company founded by late coffee tycoon V.G. Siddhartha, has put its Sical Logistics unit on the block as it seeks to pare debt, three people directly aware of the matter said.
CDEL has hired ICICI Securities as adviser for the potential transaction, which could see the group holding company raise ₹1,000-1,500 crore, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.
“CDEL is planning to sell the entire promoter stake and assets of Sical Logistics,” said one of the three people cited above. ICICI Securities was appointed last week to find a buyer for Sical Logistics, the person added.
“CDEL’s debt at the consolidated level is around ₹4,400 crore. The sale of the Global Village Tech Park will bring down this debt to around ₹2,000 crore, while a part of the proceeds from this sale will go to CDEL’s books towards working capital requirements,” the person said.
On Saturday, CDEL hired IDFC Securities to advise on strategic options including the sale of its holding in Coffee Day Global Ltd, the unit that owns India’s largest coffee chain, as well as to advise on refinancing of the group’s debt.
On 5 September, Mint reported that the promoters and lenders of CDEL have shelved a plan to sell a controlling stake in Coffee Day Global after holding initial talks with potential suitors, including Coca-Cola and ITC Ltd. The promoter family may revisit the sale of the coffee business at a later date, the report said.
Mint reported on 30 July that Siddhartha was in talks to urgently refinance a large portion of his and his company’s outstanding debt. Tanglin Developments Ltd, a real estate subsidiary of CDEL, is closing its sale of the 90-acre Tech Park to New York-based buyout firm Blackstone Group Lp for ₹2,800 crore. Alongside, CDEL is exploring other options to reduce the group’s debt after Siddhartha’s suspected suicide.
CDEL’s promoter stake has fallen substantially since 26 July. According to a series of filings by the company on exchanges, pledges on 26.47% of CDEL shares (pledged with debenture holders) have been invoked by debenture holders between 26 July and 30 August, leaving the promoter group of CDEL with only 27.46% in the company.
Source: Mint