A file photo of Anil Ambani
The troubled Anil Ambani Group's mortgage finance arm Reliance Home Finance on Wednesday sought permission from banks to repay Rs 91.78 crore to its retail bondholders due next month.
The company owes Rs 91.78 crore, includes both principal and the interest, to 19,964 retail bondholders but is unable to pay because of a restraint placed by the lenders as it is undergoing is a bank-led resolution process. The instruments are maturing on January 3 and 15.
A recent media report had said the bondholders were staring at the risk of taking a hit on their investments because of the restrictions in which the company is operating.
"The company is unable to proceed with such payment owing to the complete restraint placed by the banks on securitisng assets and distribution of funds to pay off any lenders," RHF chief executive Ravindra Sudhalkar said in a letter to Bank of Baroda, the lead bank.
The letter, which was reviewed by PTI, claims that the company has assets of over Rs 3,500 crore and adequate liquidity to pay these investors.
When contacted, a spokesperson for Bank of Baroda did not immediately comment on the letter.
The letter tries to make it clear that the permission is being sought to pay only retail bondholders, when payments are due in January.
It said the bond trustee has also warned the company of legal action if it fails to repay the bondholders on time.
The letter said banks have been serviced over the last few months and sought the retail bondholders to be paid without any haircuts.
According to the report, the company had raised over Rs 3,000 crore in bonds through various investors, including the retail ones.
It can be noted that in September, various rating agencies had downgraded the bonds to junk following the financial difficulties being faced by it.
