Mumbai: American Tower Corporation (ATC), an operational creditor with claim of Rs 450 crore from Videocon, Wednesday moved the NCLT opposing the lenders plea for consolidating all the group companies of Videocon group for the ongoing bankruptcy process. While the Videocon group has over 50 operational entities, the lenders are seeking to consolidate the accounts of 14 key entities for speeding up the bankruptcy process and to ensure value maximisation in case of liquidation.
While Videocon Telecommunications owes around Rs 24,000 crore to lenders, 12 other group entities under Videocon Industries owe Rs 59,000 crore to the system. ATC, in its objection to the consolidation of all accounts of the group–a first since the bankruptcy law was enacted in May 2016–argued that the move will be more like merger, which is impossible as the debtors of each company are different and that it has no exposure to any other group companies except Videocon Telecom which owes it Rs 450 crore.
“The business of each of the 14 entities are also different and no way inter-linked and not all the 50 entities at the NCLT,” the ATC counsel argued and also sought permission to attend the committee of creditors meeting due to his exposure to the firm. To this, the counsel of State Bank, which is the lead banker, argued that it is a merger but merely a consolidation of the books of accounts, so that the bankruptcy process is speeded up.
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