I Squared Capital is understood to have joined the race, along with Varde Partners, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, for acquiring the assets of Reliance Communications (RCom) under the ongoing insolvency process for the telecom company.
The last date to submit the bids is Monday, and the bids are expected to be opened by afternoon, sources aware of the development told FE. The committee of creditors (CoC) of RCom had extended the bids submission deadline from the previous date of November 12 to November 25.
The US-based private equity firm is bidding for RCom’s data centres and optic fibre assets, sources said. Varde Partners, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are said to have put in separate bids for RCom and two of its units (Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom).
The Sunil Bharti-led telecom company had withdrawn its bid for RCom assets last week, objecting to the CoC’s decision to extend the bids submission deadline by 10 days “solely based on the request of another potential bidder”, it said in a letter to the resolution professional (RP) of RCom. While Bharti did not name the bidder, according to reports, Reliance Jio had sought extension of the November 12 deadline to make an offer under the ongoing insolvency proceedings for RCom’s assets.
An e-mail sent to I Squared Capital remained unanswered till press time. For Bharti Airtel, FE could not independently confirm if it has submitted a fresh bid. A spokesperson for Bharti Airtel declined to comment. As part of the insolvency proceedings for RCom and two of its units, the RP has asked for bids from interested bidders for spectrum in the 850 MHz band used in 4G in 14 of India’s 22 telecom circles, around 43,000 telecom towers and fibre.
The NCLT has directed the RP to conclude the sale of assets of RCom by January 10, 2020. The stressed telco’s total debt to financial creditors stands at Rs 51,141 crore, while the secured debt is estimated to be Rs 33,000 crore.