The Bombay High Court on Thursday adjourned a case involving Wockhardt Ltd and its foreign lenders, Barclays and Calyon, till January 15. Both the companies had filed a winding up petition against Wockhardt in November to liquidate the assets of the debt-ridden pharma major and distribute its proceeds to lenders.
Though another lender, Singapore-based DBS Bank Ltd, filed another winding up petition against Wockhardt in September, both parties reportedly reached an out-of-court settlement over repayment of Rs 44 crore. Wockhardt?s shares were up 3.5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday to close at Rs 181.90.
The petitioners have questioned the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) exercise that Wockhardt is undertaking. They say the process was unilateral and did not adhere to Reserve Bank of India rules, which say 75% of the lenders must approve such a scheme. Also, the petitioners had opposed Wockhardt?s move of selling out its nutritional businesses and a few of its facilities to US-based Abbott for $130 million in cash. Last month, Wockhardt sought a nod from the Bombay HC for sale of the nutrition division. Wockhardt has well known products?Farex, Dexolac and Nusobee infant formulas?in pediatric nutritional category.
Wockhardt is in the process of reducing its piling debt of over Rs 3,700 crore by selling out various businesses. Last year, the company sold out its animal health division to French company, Vetoquinol, for about Rs 170 crore, while its German business, Espharma, was sold out to Mova GmbH, a subsidiary of Lindopharm GmbH, Germany.
The pharma major had decided to restructure its corporate debt by making a reference to the CDR cell through its banker ICICI Bank Ltd.