A little-known asset reconstruction company (ARC) from Ahmedabad is the frontrunner to acquire State Bank of India’s claims arising from the personal guarantees issued by Nikhil Gandhi and Bhavesh Gandhi, the promoters of SKIL Infrastructure.
The Gandhi brothers issued the guarantee against loans to Reliance Naval and Engineering (RNEL), which operates a defence shipyard.
SBI received a ₹3.48 crore binding offer from Rare Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) against claims arising from personal guarantees that the bank failed to recover from selling RNEL to a Swan Energy-led consortium under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The offer from Rare ARC has triggered a Swiss challenge auction scheduled for June 26.
The bank has invited offers from ARCs for the personal guarantees given by the Gandhi brothers, as reported by ET on May 29.
SBI has principal outstanding dues of ₹1,160 crore and total dues of ₹3,512 crore as of May 31, 2024, the bank said in an auction notice. The bank has sought to assign the residual debt and the guarantee.
SBI did not respond to ET’s request for comments. Rare ARC could not be reached for comments.
Rare ARC has offered ₹3.45 crore as upfront cash and will issue a security receipt of ₹3 lakh. SBI has said that any counteroffer should be upward of 5% of the anchor bid, which is ₹3.48 crore. Rare ARC will have the first right to match any counteroffer SBI receives at the auction.
Nikhil Gandhi and his brother had given personal guarantees against about ₹7,000 crore loans raised for Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering. The company was sold to the Anil Ambani Group in 2015. Post this transaction, the loans and guarantees were transferred to the renamed company RNEL.
Swan Energy had partnered with resolution applicant Hazel Mercantile through its special purpose vehicle Hazel Infra to acquire Reliance Naval for a staggered payment of ₹2,108 crore.
Last December, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of an IBC provision that allows lenders to recover overdue money from corporate debtors’ personal guarantors.
