Reliance Retail Ventures Offers to Acquire Future Enterprises with Jindal (India) and GBTL

On February 27, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) accepted the filing of corporate insolvency for Future Enterprises, led by Kishore Biyani.

Four companies under the control of Kishor Biyani’s Future Group are currently undergoing insolvency proceedings.

Future Enterprises Limited (FEL), burdened with debt, has received resolution proposals from Reliance Retail Ventures, led by Mukesh Ambani, Jindal (India) Ltd, and GBTL Ltd, a textiles manufacturer owned by Donear Industries. This development was disclosed by the company in a filing to the stock exchange as part of the corporate insolvency process.

On February 27, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) accepted the application for corporate insolvency of Future Enterprises, helmed by Kishore Biyani. The Mumbai bench of the NCLT has ordered the initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process for the company. Under the proposed plan, the company will be auctioned to recover outstanding dues.

Avil Menezes, the Resolution Professional overseeing this case, has revealed the names of these three entities as a “provisional list of prospective resolution applicants.”

The Resolution Professional has acknowledged verified claims amounting to Rs 12,265 crore from lenders, along with claims of Rs 23 crore from fixed deposit holders.

The Future Group firm, led by Kishore Biyani, had substantial borrowings in the form of bonds, resulting in multiple trusteeship companies filing claims. Centbank Financial Services has filed the highest claim of Rs 3,344 crore, followed by Axis Trustee Services at Rs 1,341 crore, and Vistra ITCL (India) at Rs 210 crore.

In a recent filing to the stock exchange, Future Enterprises Limited (FEL) disclosed that the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) has received claims totaling Rs 2.58 crore from employees, out of which Rs 2.24 crore has been admitted. The company has also received statutory dues amounting to Rs 14.75 crore from the state tax department and GST authorities.

According to the company, the IRP has received claims from 803 Unsecured Financial creditors, 22 Secured Financial creditors (excluding those belonging to any specific class of creditors), and 10 Unsecured Financial creditors (excluding those belonging to any specific class of creditors) as of June 5, 2023.

Furthermore, the report states that within 90 days of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), the IRP has received claims from 42 employees of Corporate Debtor (FEL), 4 Operational Creditors (Government dues), and 161 Operational Creditors (excluding ‘Workmen and Employees and Government Dues).”

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