Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) said it has completed the sale of its 35% stake in Warora Chandrapur Ballarpur Toll Road (WCBTRL) to majority joint venture partner Vishvaraj Infrastructure (VIL), thereby settling Rs 1 crore debt from its Rs 324 crore was deducted from the total debt of Rs 99,000 crore.
Until recently, the heavily indebted IL&FS board had resolved the group’s debt worth Rs 52,000 crore. In addition, it maintained its forecast to settle debts of around Rs 61,000 crore across the group. IL&FS went bankrupt in 2018 with debts approaching Rs 1 trillion.
VIL and Diva Media will now own 100% of WCBTRL as IL&FS sells its stake in the highway project. WCBTRL is a company driven by IL&FS’s subsidiary, IL&FS Transportation Networks (ITNL), with a 35% stake, and VIL and its associate, Diva Media Private Limited, 65%.
At Warora Chandrapur Expressway, majority partner VIL has taken over the entire external debt of Rs 306 crore for the expressway project and also provided an equity stake of Rs 120 crore. In addition, it settled IL&FS Group dues of Rs 6 crore.
The project’s main lenders – Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank and Indian Infrastructure Finance Corporation (IIFCL) – have all approved the sale and change of ownership, IL&FS said in a statement. In addition, IL&FS has obtained the necessary approvals from the ITNL Creditors Committee, Justice DK Jain and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to complete the transaction.
The company built a four-lane highway project linking Warora, Chandrapur and Ballarpur, traversing along three different highways in Maharashtra. The 64-kilometer project, costing Rs 6.89 crore, has a concession granted by the Maharashtra government’s Department of Public Works until January 2041.
Complete news Source : Construction Week