INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Adani Wilmar, the highest bidder in fray to acquire debt-laden Ruchi Soya, has secured Rs 4,000-crore credit line from Standard Chartered
Standard Chartered and DBS currently have exposure to Ruchi Soya and were among the first ones to report the case to National Company Law
the person said.
The joint venture between infrastructure conglomerate Adani Group and Singapore-based Wilmar International nearly doubled
its earlier bid to trump Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved, which was the lead contender for Ruchi Soya till the penultimate round of
bidding process.
Both Standard Chartered and DBS declined to comment
distressed debt investors bringing in replacement capital by purchasing domestic and foreign debt of companies in IBC.
Ruchi Soya is one of
40 companies that had been identified by the Reserve Bank of India to be referred to the bankruptcy courts for effective debt
resolution.
Adani Wilmar emerged the highest bidder for the company with an offer of Rs 5,474 crore, which includes Rs 4,300 crore as
Patanjali had offered Rs 5,765 crore, but it included only Rs 4,065 crore for payment to lenders.
Financial creditors to the company have
submitted a claim of Rs 10,493 crore to the resolution professional for Ruchi Soya, while operational creditors have made a claim of Rs 36
crore.
State Bank of India has the highest exposure of Rs 1,822 crore in the company, followed by Central Bank of India with Rs 824 crore
Standard Chartered has an exposure of Rs 607 crore, while DBS Bank has a claim of Rs 242 crore with Ruchi Soya.
Set up in 1986, the Mumbai
and Indore-based Ruchi Soya is the largest edible oil seed extraction and refining company in India, with 3.72 million tonnes per annum of
oil seed extraction capacity across 10 locations and 3.30 mt refining capacity in 13 locations
It also sells vanaspati, bakery fats, and soya food, and has a 3.05 mt soya meal extraction capacity
Ruchi Star.
Incorporated in 1999, Adani Wilmar owns refineries in 17 locations across the country, has eight crushing units and 18 toll
