PSBs shelve deal to sell drug company loans to NARCL

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Parenteral Drugs (India) have backed out of a deal to sell the stressed loans of the pharma company to National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), after an external committee of one of the banks rejected the offer, saying it is «too low», according to people aware of the development.State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) had given loans to Parenteral Drugs, a contract manufacturer of liquid formulations which is undergoing corporate insolvency. A binding offer by NARCL for the pharma company had triggered a Swiss Challenge auction, following which SBI invited counter offers from other asset reconstruction companies (ARCs). The lenders, led by SBI, held a Swiss auction on June 16, and they even declared NARCL as the winning bidder, the people cited earlier said.

Ideally, SBI should have taken approval of its external committee before the auction date, one of the persons cited earlier said. A senior official of SBI declined to comment. NARCL had offered ₹45 crore against the ₹1,173 crore claims that the lenders have filed for with the resolution professional (RP).

The principal outstanding loans stand at ₹398.2 crore. NARCL's offer equates to a recovery of 0.3% on the amount claimed by the banks with the RP and 11% on principal loans. The wide difference between the principal outstanding and the claim amount is because the company defaulted on payments in 2016.

Thus, the amount that the lenders filed as claims with the RP includes interest and penalty charged on the principal loans. SBI's auction notice stated that the value of the securities that the lenders hold, including third-party guarantee, is at ₹112 crore. However, NARCL was offering about 40% of the security value available to the lenders.