The Dharampal Satyapal (DS) Group has completed the acquisition of Viceroy Bangalore Hotels Pvt. Ltd as part of the corporate insolvency resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, said a lawyer aware of the matter.
Viceroy Hotels owns the Marriott-managed Renaissance Bengaluru Race Course Hotel and had a debt of over Rs1,000 crore. The DS Group is a multi-business corporation and a fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) conglomerate. The group currently has a Radisson Blu in Guwahati, Crown Plaza in Jaipur, Namah at Jim Corbett National Park, Holiday Inn Express at the Kolkata airport and The Manu Maharani in Nainital.
In May, a bench led by Justices Rajani Relaprolu and Charan Singh approved DS Group’s resolution plan worth Rs300 crore. The bench had given 60 days to implement the plan, saying that it along with annexures and schedules forming part of the plan would be binding on the corporate debtor (Viceroy Bangalore Hotels), its employees, members and creditors.
“The resolution applicant (DS Group) has adequate financial resources to continue in operation for the foreseeable future. The resolution applicant is in a sound financial position and has access to sufficient facilities to meet its foreseeable cash requirements,” the bench said while approving the group’s plan.
Siddharth Srivastava, partner, Khaitan & Co., called it one of the fastest successful resolutions in the hotel industry under IBC.
“All the payments have been made under the plan. This will now pave the way in enhancing investor stakeholder and confidence in the IBC resolution process,” said Srivastava.
Under the resolution process, the committee of creditors including Edelweiss ARC and Vistra ITCL had approved the resolution plan with 100% votes in favour of the DS Group. In August, the tribunal admitted Edelweiss ARC’s insolvency plea against the hotel and appointed Kuresh Hatim Khambati as the resolution professional.