Jio Proposes To Deposit Rs 3,720 Crore, In Escrow Account To Acquire RCom's Tower, Fibre Assets

Telecom operator Jio has proposed to deposit Rs 3,720 crore in an escrow account to complete the acquisition of Reliance Infratel which is undergoing liquidation process. Billionaire Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani-run Jio placed the bid of Rs 3,720 crore in November 2019 to acquire tower and fibre asset of debt-ridden subsidiary of his younger brother Anil Ambani managed firm Reliance Communications.

Jio's subsidiary Reliance Projects and Property Management Services in an application before NCLT last month said that the company is committed to and is willing to implement the resolution plan of Reliance Infratel, which was approved by the committee of creditors earlier. Jio said delay in acquisition of RITL (Reliance Infratel Ltd) assets due to inter-creditor disputes will deteriorate the value of assets.

"In order to avoid any further delays, the applicant proposes to deposit the total resolution amount in an account with State Bank of India as was directed by this hon'ble tribunal in the plan approval order," Jio's arm said in a fresh application before NCLT Mumbai. RITL has fibre assets of around 1.78 lakh route kilometers and 43,540 mobile towers across the country.

RITL is the holding company for tower and fibre assets of RCOM. Reliance Project & property Management Services Limited, a subsidiary of Jio, and the successful resolution applicant for RITL, has moved a fresh application in the NCLT Mumbai to complete the acquisition process.

The funds will be distributed amongst the lenders once the inter-creditors dispute over the distribution of resolution funds is settled amongst the lenders. SBI and a few other banks, including Doha Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and Emirates Bank, are engaged in a legal battle over the distribution of funds. The matter is pending before the Supreme Court. Doha Bank had challenged the classification of claims from the indirect creditors of RITL, as the financial creditors, by the resolution professional.

(PTI)