FIITJEE and Extramarks, the two suitors for bankrupt rival EducompBSE 4.88 % Solutions, approached the National Company Law Tribunal seeking a two-week extension to the deadline to submit final bids for the education services provider.
FIITJEE and Extramarks, which have completed due diligence on the company, sought more time on the grounds that they were not provided with adequate information on the subsidiaries of listed Educomp, people directly briefed on the matter said. January 27 is the current deadline to submit final bids. The plea is scheduled to be heard on Thursday.
Extramarks chief financial officer Swagata Roy confirmed that her company had approached the tribunal to extend the bidding date so that it could evaluate Educomp properly. In an emailed response to ET’s questions, she said Extramarks was carrying out a pre-bid due diligence of Educomp but it was stuck due to want of information or very delayed receipt of information from the company.
FITJEE director RL Trikha declined to comment, saying that the matter was before the court. Mahender Khandelwal, the resolution professional for Educomp, also declined to comment, citing the same reason. Educomp’s three subsidiaries, including Edusmart and Edulearning R, are also currently facing insolvency proceedings, while two others, Edu Infra and Vidya Mandir Learning Classes, are slated to be admitted for insolvency proceedings.
A Singapore-based arm of the company is already facing liquidation.
Educomp owes nearly Rs 3,000 crore to a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India. International Finance Corporation and Proparco, a French development finance institution, are among the creditors of the company.
The information on subsidiaries was not provided since under local law insolvent subsidiaries don’t have to share information with bidders for the parent company, bankers in the know said. However, this is being challenged in the tribunal.
If the tribunal grants an extension to the deadline, it could delay the insolvency proceedings which are scheduled to close on February 24.
Educomp was admitted to insolvency proceedings under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code that allows the debtor to file for bankruptcy. The process started in last May.
Educomp specialises in K12 (kindergarten to Class 12) content library with 3D multimedia educational content. It also has 350 pre-schools under the name Little Millennium, 45 K12 schools and 63 test prep centres.
Source: Economic Times