The central bank appointed administrator will file an application at Mumbai National Company Law Tribunal seeking approval from the court. In the next two-three days, the application is likely to be filed.
RBI could not be contacted immediately for comments.
“The central bank had a timeline of 45 days to approve it, but it took just about three weeks reflecting a fast-paced process,” one of the persons cited above told ET.
This approval suggested that the successful bidder of the company qualified for the central bank’s “fit and proper” criteria to own the housing finance company.
During mid-January, billionaire Ajay Piramal won the most contested bankruptcy bid for Dewan Housing Finance Ltd, trumping distressed fund Oaktree Capital and Adani Capital as creditors overwhelmingly voted for the drug-maker turned real estate and mortgage lender.
Piramal’s bid received about 94 percent of votes of the creditors, followed by Oaktree at 45 percent. Adani Capital obtained about 18 percent. Lenders and investors have an option to vote for multiple bids.
Rules stipulate that the winning bidder is backed by at least 60 percent of lenders by value.
The voting outcome did not face any legal challenge as Oaktree, another potential bidder did not challenge it.
“We are treading caution at every step for a smooth process,” said one of the lenders to the home financier that had borrowed about Rs 91,000 crore from banks, bondholders, depositors and institutions.
Piramals and Oaktree had been in a slugfest for weeks over how the creditors should treat the rival bids as they differed in qualitative and quantitative parameters. Both claimed that their bids were superior to the other as the key net present value calculation based on how much upfront cash they provide and over how many years they repay the remaining debt.
The RBI had put DHFL under administrator after charges of siphoning off funds and corruption were filed against the promoter family including the chairman Kapil Wadhawan. The Enforcement Directorate and other central agencies are pursuing prosecution against the former management.
