DHFL bid: Oaktree Cap emerges as the highest bidder with Rs 32,700 crore

As reported by Mint, global alternative asset investor Oaktree Capital Management has stepped in the spotlight as the highest bidder for bankrupt Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL), overtaking Adani Enterprises Ltd and Piramal Group, two people aware of the matter said. Oaktree Capital offered to pay Rs 32,700 crore in the fourth round of bidding for mortgage lender DHFL’s entire portfolio, followed by Piramal with Rs 32,350 crore and Adani Enterprises with Rs 29,860 crore, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

The revised bids were asked for after the Adani group made an unsolicited offer to buy the entire company instead of the select assets it had bid for earlier. S.C. Lowy, which had earlier bid for DHFL’s assets, did not revise with the submission of a fresh bid. The Adani group also made a separate offer to purchase the wholesale and slum rehabilitation projects controlled by DHFL. Piramal, too, submitted a separate bid for DHFL’s retail assets.

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Meanwhile, former DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan on Monday has renewed the previous offer for the company. In a letter addressed to the DHFL administrator, Wadhawan said he could fully repay all creditors in 7-8 years, with an upfront payment of Rs 9,000 crore. “If the bids received for Dewan Housing Finance Corp continue to be as low as they were previously, I would request the committee of creditors to consider my settlement proposal instead, rather than permit Dewan Housing Finance Corp to be sold for a song,” he said.

Under his proposal, settlements will commence from the fiscal year 2022 and will guarantee the completion of stalled projects to recover dues in the wholesale business. Later, the company will focus on fresh retail loans, the letter said.

Dewan Housing’s outstanding loan book is valued at ₹67,000 crore, which includes wholesale loans worth ₹40,000 crore, retail loans worth ₹17,000 crore and delinquent loans worth ₹10,000 crore. The company went into administration in November last year, after the Reserve Bank of India instructed lenders to initiate proceedings.