Hinduja Group dials lenders to raise $1 bn for Reliance Capital acquisition

The Hinduja family has tipped global lending firms to help them raise up to $1 billion to finance the potential acquisition of Reliance Capital, The Economic Times (ET) It has been reported. Hinduja Group has emerged as the preferred bidder after the insolvent financial services company’s lenders approved Hinduja’s plan to dissolve it, the newspaper quoted people familiar with the matter.

Lenders that Hinduja Group reached out to include names like Farallon Capital, Oaktree, Ares Asia and Cerberus. Hinduja and these lenders have been in contact in recent weeks to discuss the details of the proposed arrangement, and ET The report said.

Besides, Gujarat-based Hinduja, Torrent Group also competed to take over Reliance Capital and participated in two rounds of bidding. However, Torrent decided to stay away from the third bidding round and challenged the bidding process in the Supreme Court, for which the decision was not rendered.

Deal schedule

The timeline for closing the transaction will be around three to six months and will depend on how quickly legal issues with the acquisition are overcome. The final list of buyout-supporting lenders could also be subject to review ET The report said.

approval from the NCLT

As a next step, the takeover plan will be submitted to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for approval this week.

The Hinduja family holds a 15 percent stake in IndusInd Bank through Mauritius-based IIHL, which is the holding company for the group in the financial services business.

Hinduja Group has expressed its ambitions to expand in the field of financial services. To this end, the Group acquired a controlling stake in a bank in the Bahamas and obtained approval for a banking license in Mauritius, ET mentioned. Furthermore, general inclusion of the IIHL is also on the cards next year.