According to DCHL’s September-quarter results statement, the company had long-term borrowings to the tune ofRs.147.20 crore and short-term borrowings amounting to Rs.3,755.70 crore. Its total liabilities, both current and non-current, stood at Rs.4,207.54 crore.
Live Mint Yogendra Kalavalapalli :Wed, Apr 17 2013. 09 57 PM IST
Court asks the firm to issue notices to all creditors and direct them to file any objections to its petition by 5 June
Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh high court on Wednesday refused to stay any litigation pending against the financially troubled publishing firm Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL).
The court was responding to a petition moved by DCHL for staying all civil and criminal proceedings pending against the company, its directors and officials in various legal forums including high courts and debt recovery tribunals in India and abroad.
Counsel for DCHL Harish Kumar said the company was in the midst of a restructuring exercise and pending agreement on the recast terms, the high court should issue an injunction restricting all legal proceedings against it.
Twelve lenders represented by their respective advocates objected to DCHL’s petition.
Judge N.R.L. Nageswara Rao asked Deccan Chronicle Holdings to issue notices to all creditors and direct them to file any objections to its petition by 5 June, the next date for the hearing.
The publisher of Deccan Chronicle, Financial Chronicle and Asian Age newspapers and the Telugu dailyAndhra Bhoomi on 22 February informed the bourses that its board of directors had approved a scheme to restructure the entity and arrive at a compromise formula with its lenders to pay off debts amounting to over Rs.3,987.50 crore as of September. Subsequently, the Andhra Pradesh high court asked the company to convene a meeting of its shareholders and seek their approval for breaking up the business.
The company also owns stationery retail chain Odyssey, which has been incurring heavy losses, and lost its Indian Premier League cricket franchise Deccan Chargers last year after the Board of Control for Cricket in India terminated its ownership for failing to furnish a Rs.100 crore bank guarantee.
ICICI Bank Ltd, which has an exposure of about Rs.500 crore to DCHL, challenged the break-up plan in the high court saying the proposed scheme of arrangement should first be approved by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India before the court approves it.
Shares of Deccan Chronicle fell 0.63% to Rs.3.17 on a day the Sensex declined 0.07% to 18,731.16 points.
The company has been taken to court and the debt recovery tribunal by IFCI Ltd, Jammu and Kashmir Bank Ltd, Axis Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, Yes Bank Ltd, Tata Capital Ltd, PVP Capital Ltd, National Pension System Trust, and Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. Ltd seeking to strip the company of its assets.
Besides these institutions, Hong Kong-based newsprint supplier Adonis Ltd and Chennai-based print trader Photon Infotech Pvt. Ltd also moved the Andhra Pradesh high court.
Some of DCHL’s lenders have classified the loans as non-performing assets, and a few have even invoked promoters’ shares pledged as collateral leading to the stakes held by chairman T. Venkattram Reddy, vice-chairman T. Vinayak Ravi Reddy and managing director P.K. Iyer falling from 73.83% as of June 2012 to 32.66% as of March 2013.
According to DCHL’s September-quarter results statement, the company had long-term borrowings to the tune of Rs. 147.20 crore and short-term borrowings amounting to Rs. 3,755.70 crore. Its total liabilities, both current and non-current, stood at Rs. 4,207.54 crore.
HT Media Ltd, publisher of Mint and Hindustan Times, competes with DCHL in some markets.
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