Jio, Airtel 2 others eye Reliance Communications assets as bids open today

Bitter telecom rivals Reliance Jio Infocomm and Bharti
Airte, besides private equity firm Varde Partners and
infrastructure-focused  I Squared Capital
fund, are set to compete for Reliance Communications’ assets, bids for which
will be opened Monday.

“Monday is the last day for submitting bids and the bids
will be opened on that day itself,” said a person familiar with the
matter.

While Airtel and Jio are expected to bid mainly for RCom’s
850 MHz spectrum, I Squared Capital is likely to vie for the telco’s data
centres and optic fibre assets. RCom’s 43,000 towers, housed under Reliance
Infratel, are also up for sale.

According to people aware of the matter, UV Asset
Reconstruction Company may also bid for RCom’s assets.

The bankrupt telco’s resolution professional from Deloitte
and members of its committee of creditors (CoC) are scheduled to open the bids.
The telco’s total secured debt is estimated at Rs 33,000 crore. Proceeds from
the sale would be used for repaying creditors.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, RCom said its CoC had rejected the
resignation of chairman Anil Ambani and four other directors. The lenders have
asked them to cooperate in the ongoing corporate insolvency resolution process.

“(The committee had) expressed a unanimous view that
the resignations cannot be accepted,” stated the telco in a regulatory
filing. “It is being duly communicated to the aforesaid directors of RCom
that their resignations have not been accepted and they are advised to continue
to perform their duties and responsibilities as the directors of RCom and
provide all cooperation to resolution professional in the corporate insolvency
resolution process,” it said.

The insolvency process itself appears to be in the last
stages with bids set to be opened. The resolution professional needs to
complete the sale by January 10, 2020.

Airtel, which had put in a bid some days ago only to
withdraw it after the bidding deadline was extended by 10 days to accommodate
Jio, is believed to be bidding only for spectrum.

While withdrawing its initial bid, Airtel had alleged that
the process was unfair as it wasn’t granted an extension when it had also
sought one earlier.

Airtel did not comment to ET’s queries on its renewed
interest for the assets. I Squared Capital, UVARCL and Jio did not respond to
ET’s queries until press time Sunday. “We are bound by confidentiality
obligations and are unable to comment on client-specific matters,” said
Deloitte spokesperson. Varde Partners declined to comment.

RCom recently posted a loss of of Rs 30,142 crore, the second worst in corporate India behind Vodafone Idea. It has been waging legal battles against the telecom department and other operational creditors over dues. Lenders financial and operational are reckoned to have put in claims worth almost Rs 90,000 crore against the telco.

The bankrupt telco’s resolution professional from Deloitte
and members of its committee of creditors (CoC) are scheduled to open the bids.
The telco’s total secured debt is estimated at Rs 33,000 crore. Proceeds from
the sale would be used for repaying creditors.