Hindujas look to raise up to $1b to finance Reliance Capital acquisition

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Hinduja family has sounded out global credit funds to raise up to $1 billion (about ₹8,200 crore) to finance the potential acquisition of Reliance Capital for which it is the favored bidder after lenders to the insolvent financial services company approved Hinduja's resolution plan, sources familiar with the matter told ET.Farallon Capital, Oaktree, Ares Asia and Cerberus are among the funds that have been tapped in recent weeks to discuss the modalities of the proposed arrangement if the Hindujas were to get requisite court approvals for their bid, sources said. The financing could be backed by shares of Reliance Capital's life and general insurance arms, and the credit funds are likely to seek assurances from the Hinduja Group that such an arrangement will have the consent of the insurance regulator.Timeline Could Vary from 3-6 Mths However, timeline for closing such a financing could vary from 3-6 months depending on how quickly legal hurdles toward completing the acquisition are crossed.

The final list of financiers could also change. Reliance Capital's lenders have approved a Rs 9,650-crore resolution plan made under the insolvency and bankruptcy code (IBC) rules from Hinduja Group company IndusInd International Holdings Limited (IIHL), the Hinduja Group announced on July 3.

Its offer could result in a successful debt resolution for the debt-laden Reliance Capital, which will be only the second large financial services company after Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) to be sold under provisions of the IBC. Kolkata-based Srei is the third financial services group admitted for insolvency resolution, but there are no final bids yet for two distressed infrastructure financiers of the group.NCLT Approval The plan will be