The ‘middle layer’ non-banking financial company (NBFC) has received a Rs 275 crore offer from an ARC for the stressed assets up for sale. This offer will serve as the base bid for the Swiss challenge auction to be conducted by the NBFC. ARCs interested in submitting counterbids must bid at least 15 per cent higher than the base bid.
The Mumbai-based shadow lender intends to complete the sale of the stressed assets by August 27.
According to the notice issued by IndoStar Capital, the base bidder intends to set up a special purpose trust—Securitisation Trust—for acquiring the stressed assets and will contribute 13.05 per cent of the security receipts (SRs) being issued by the Securitisation Trust. The remaining 86.95 per cent of the security receipts will be issued to IndoStar Capital as part consideration for the sale of the stressed assets. The base bidder has provided a plan to resolve the stressed assets and redeem the SRs issued by the Securitisation Trust within a period of five years from the acquisition of the assets.
SRs are instruments issued by ARCs as payment for purchasing distressed assets from banks or NBFCs. An SR represents an interest in the underlying distressed asset or pool of assets.
Meanwhile, IndoStar Capital has also specified that any ARC that was already in discussions to acquire the assets up for sale and had not submitted a proposal, or had submitted a proposal less beneficial than the base bid, will not be allowed to participate in the Swiss challenge process. Further, if IndoStar Capital does not receive any counterbids by August 26, it will execute the sale process with the base bidder. However, if multiple counterbids are received, the highest valid bid will be taken as the ‘challenger bid,’ and the base bidder will be asked to match or exceed the bid. If the base bidder matches or surpasses it, they will be declared the ‘successful bidder’; otherwise, the challenger bidder will be the successful bidder.
IndoStar Capital Finance, with assets under management of Rs 8,000 crore, focuses on small-time customers mainly in Tier II, Tier III, and Tier IV towns, offering a comprehensive range of financial products, including commercial vehicle, construction equipment, and farm equipment loans. Previously, in December 2023, the NBFC sold a Rs 292 crore stressed loan portfolio, consisting of SME loans, to Encore Asset Reconstruction Company as a step to clean up its books.