IL&FS AGM: Company outlines three-pronged strategy to tackle financial crisis

Mumbai: The top management of IL&FS sought to reassure shareholders that the debt-laden company had a clear plan to tide over its immediate crisis, during its annual general meeting on Saturday.

Three preference shareholders Mint spoke to after the meeting said the company’s management had assured them that the Rs 4500 crore proposed rights issue will be completed by the end of October, and the company would set up a legal framework in the next 45 days to start the asset sale process, including a scheme of arrangement to separate healthy and sick assets.

One shareholder Mint spoke to said the company was in talks with lenders for a bridge loan to infuse immediate liquidity, and was also looking for a moratorium from shareholders to extend payment dates.

In a video recording shared with the press after the meeting, Hari Sankaran, vice-chairman, IL&FS, said: “In today’s AGM, we addressed several issues concerning shareholders. These issues revolved around moves to achieve normalcy of our operations. The elements of our strategy has three parts — to have a successful rights issue to enable the company to recapitalise itself, to sell assets which we have built over the last few decades to help repay our creditors, and to be able to get liquidity to repay our debtors till our asset sale cycle begins. These strategies were explained in some details to our shareholders.”

The board of directors will meet later in the day to decide on the details of these proposals.

IL&FS is staring at a debt of around ₹ 90,000 crore. On Friday, credit rating agency CARE downgraded ₹ 5551 crore of the company’s outstanding bank facilities and non-convertible debentures to default status.

Also read: ITNL loan default first sign of cracks in IL&FS