Monday, April 08, 2013

Gammon India referred to CDR, Tulip Telecom's CDR approved
~~By Aniruddha Ghosh & Simran Gill
As banks close their annual books, a scramble for getting corporate debt restructuring cases approved has started.

According to sources, loss-making construction firm Gammon IndiaBSE 0.84 % has been referred to the CDR cell by its bankers for restructuring its debt amounting to Rs 9000 crore, while telecom services and IT Solutions provider Tulip TelecomBSE 0.90 % has got its restructuring proposal for debt amounting to Rs 2200 crore approved by the CDR Cell.

According to a senior PSU banker, the CDR Cell will meet by April-end to take a call on whether Gammon will be given the in-principle or 'flash' approval for restructuring. ICICI Bank and Canara Bank are the lead lenders to Gammon India, with about 45% of the exposure to this account. The management of Gammon had secured a board approval for the debt recast earlier this year.
Meanwhile, according to sources in the know, the CDR package for Tulip Telecom has been approved by a majority of its lenders. The final approval from the CDR Cell for this account is expected to come through in the same meeting, by the end of this month.

Under the CDR package, Tulip will get an interest rate of 11.5%, along with a moratorium of 2.5 years and a loan extension of 8 years. According to sources, the company will also get interest funding of Rs 330 cr for 1.5 years. The promoter will have to make an up-front sacrifice of Rs 60 crore under the CDR package.

Not just that, Tulip has outstanding FCCB obligations of Rs 750 crore, the bankers are yet to take a call on how this needs to be tackled. Lenders to Tulip include ICICI Bank, BoI, IOB & LIC.

Under corporate debt restructuring, the CDR Cell works with lenders to troubled accounts, helping nurse them back into health by extending the loan period and adjusting the interest rate. FY13 is expected to see a record amount of CDR cases on the back of deteriorating economic and business conditions.