Airtel, RJio and 2 others bid for RCom assets
Bharti Airtel has offered about Rs 9,500 crore in cash for the assets of beleaguered Reliance Communications (RCom), which is undergoing insolvency proceedings. This is the highest upfront cash offering for the assets that include spectrum, towers, fibre, data centres and real estate, a Mint report said quoting sources.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJio) has offered Rs 3,600 crore as upfront cash payment but has not placed a bid on RCom’s spectrum assets or the company’s real estate, the online report filed by the newspaper said.
BusinessLine could not independently verify the amount offered by Airtel and RCom.
Earlier on Monday, RCom had received a total of 11 bids from four companies for assets housed under various subsidiaries, including that from Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani-controlled RJio. The others in the Bharti Airtel, PE firm Varde Partners and UV Asset Reconstruction Company (UVARCL).
Read: Airtel, RJio and 2 others bid for RCom assets
RCom had shut down its mobile operations after being unable to pay dues of over Rs 33,000 crore. RJio is one of the players interested in acquiring RCom assets through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code-led insolvency process.
In December 2017, Mukesh Ambani emerged as the white knight and announced the acquisition of the debt-laden RCom through RJio, then a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries. Later, in March this year, RCom and Reliance Industries mutually called off that deal, citing lack of regulatory approvals.