Lanco CDR package likely to be cleared next month

Lanco Infratech Ltd expects its corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package to be cleared during a meeting slated for December 11, according to T. Adibabu, the company’s COO, Finance.

The diversified infrastructure company had applied for a CDR package that was admitted on August 23. This was related to the debt of the holding company, and a clutch of 27 banks was involved. IDBI is heading the consortium of banks overseeing the CDR restructure process.

“Majority of the banks have approved the CDR terms and we expect the whole process to be over in the CDR Empowered Meeting slated for December 11.

“In fact, there is no delay. It takes three to four months from the time of making an application for the process to get over. If at all there is some delay, it is because the banks typically meet once in 15 days,” Adibabu told Business Line .

“In addition to the CDR package of about Rs 7,000 crore, which included a Rs 4,000 crore fund-based and Rs 3,000 crore non-fund based amount, we had sought an additional Rs 3,500 crore for working capital requirements.

The banks are in the process of finalising this aspect, which is important to resume EPC work, whose pace has slowed,” he explained.

“Of the Rs 3,500-crore additional funding we had sought, Rs 2500 crore is fund-based and Rs 1,000 crore is the non-fund component,” he said.

The company has an overall debt of about Rs 36,000 crore, which is divided nearly equally at the holding company level and the special purpose vehicles.

Due to poor performance by gas-based power plants, generation and cash flows have been impacted. The EPC work has also slowed down, impacting the company’s finances.

rishikumar.vundi@thehindu.co.in

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