A dozen entities, including Silver Stallion of Mauritius, FPI Opportunities Fund of Singapore and listed companies C.E. Info Systems and 3i Infotech India, have shown interest in acquiring bankrupt defence-focused software developer Rolta India, said people aware of the development.
Other bidders to have submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) to the resolution professional Mamta Binani include Rashmi Metaliks, Rohstoffe International, Lloyds Metals and Energy, Varanium Cloud, and three individuals.
Rolta India, with admitted financial claims of nearly ₹7,100 crore, was admitted to bankruptcy proceedings in January after it escaped insolvency three times in the past four years.
Sherisha Technologies, which recently acquired a 22.7% stake in Anil Jain’s Refex Industries, has also submitted EoI. Singapore-based FPI Opportunities XII Investment Pte, likely to be backed by Oaktree Capital, and Mauritius-based Silver Stallion have given separate EoIs. The three individuals to have submitted EoIs are Bhumireddy Gari Mohan Reddy, Amrit Kumar Agarwal and Anuj Goyal.
Sources cited above said the biggest attraction is the real estate on Rolta’s books. This includes offices and six flats in Mumbai, and an office each in Kolkata and Baroda.
Kamal Singh-promoted Rolta India first defaulted in 2016 on its foreign currency loans provided by Indian banks. Six of Rolta’s overseas subsidiaries, too, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US after a court awarded a judgement in favour of bondholders with a combined exposure of $180 million. The court also passed a turnover order requiring the Rolta entities to turn over cash and shares to the bondholders.
Rolta India was founded in 1989 by Kamal K Singh and got listed on the main bourses in 1990. The company invested heavily in its expansion, especially after forming a consortium with state-owned Bharat Electronics (BEL) and being selected as a development agency for a Battlefield Management System project worth over ₹50,000 crore by the defence ministry in 2015. The company started borrowing heavily to invest in the project.
Meanwhile, the lenders are separately evaluating a ?600-crore offer from the government-owned National Asset Reconstruction Co.
In May 2019, Rolta evaded bankruptcy by seeking a six-month forbearance stating that it is amidst a ₹5,500 crore deal to sell Rolta BI & Big Data Analytics to Steamcast group. It informed lenders that the proceeds from the sale would be used to settle their debt. But when the deal failed, lenders once again initiated insolvency proceedings against the company.
In 2019, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) dismissed Union Bank’s 2018 application on the grounds that it was filed under the Reserve Bank of India’s February 12 circular, which was later pronounced ‘ultra vires’ by the Supreme Court. In November 2019, the tribunal admitted an application by overseas bondholders. However, the Bombay High Court cancelled the admission stating that due procedures were not followed.
