Founder of Future Group Kishore Biyani has reportedly made an offer of Rs 476 crore as an one-time settlement of Rs 571-crore debt of Bansi Mall Management that owns SOBO Central Mall in Mumbai’s Haji Ali to a group of lenders led by Canara Bank. The twist in the tale is that Biyani’s offer comes after the creditors reportedly approved a Rs 475-crore bid from Runwal Group for the asset.
According to a report in The Economic Times, the lenders received Runwal Group’s Rs 475 crore bid to take over the mall earlier this month, but Biyani approached the debts recovery tribunal (DRT) to challenge the decision. Biyani, the report stated, has been in touch with lenders, and has now approached the court to beat the Runwal bid. Runwal Group has already paid 10 per cent of the bid amount.
As per the report, lenders are waiting for the decision of the court. The hearing is slated for later this month.
The SOBO Central Mall has only a McDonald’s joint that was launched when it was inaugurated in 1999. It is Mumbai’s oldest mall with a total leasable area of 150,000 sq ft. The mall took a beating due to COVID, new shopping places in the city, and the fact that it had given most of its real estate to other Future Group companies, which were under stress themselves.
Meanwhile, last year Jindal (India) became the only bidder for Biyani-owned Future Enterprises Limited (FEL). The Kolkata-based company’s plan was the only one submitted to the creditors by the deadline. Earlier, Reliance Retail was also in the race to acquire FEL but no update has been provided since their request for time till October 30 to decide on their bid.
The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against Future began last year due to loan defaults. The company owed a total of Rs 12,265 crore to its creditors.
