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MUMBAI:
Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL), which owns the IPL franchise
Deccan Charges and a clutch of newspapers, is in financial
trouble. While the Industrial Finance Corporation of India
(IFCI) has filed a winding-up petition against the company
in the Andhra Pradesh High Court, the promoters have further
pledged another 14.5 per cent of their shares to Religare
Finvest.
IFCI
has contended that DCHL's liabilities may lead to the erosion
of the entire net worth of the company and make it commercially
unviable and insolvent.
The
public financial institution said it was worried about Deccan
Chronicle's financial health and sought the winding up of
the company to recover its dues.
The
petition was filed by IFCI on Friday after DCHL defaulted
on redemption of 250 unsecured redeemable non-convertible
debentures (NCDs). The company defaulted on dues worth Rs
278.4 million.
In
2011, the IFCI had invested about Rs 250 million through 250
NCDs in Deccan Chronicle, which were to mature on 26 June
this year and carried a coupon of 11.25 per cent.
A
few days back, DCHL promoters had pledged 54 per cent stake
in the company to Future Capital.
In
a disclosure to the bourses on Monday, Religare Finvest said
that a little more than 30.2 million shares of DCHL "have
been pledged/available in collateral given by the various
clients as a security to secure the loan against securities
facility".
The
promoter holding in DCHL at the end of June 2012 was 73.83
per cent with T Venkaram Reddy, T Vinayak Ravi Reddy and P
K Iyer owning 24.61 per cent stake each, according to information
on the National Stock Exchange.
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