Essel Group gets time till September to repay its lenders

Multi-faceted business conglomerate Essel Group’s management has secured a formal consent with lenders, which are having a pledge on shares held by the promoters in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd and Dish TV India Ltd. As per the consent, the lenders have agreed that there will not be any event of default declared till September 30, 2019, due to the movement in the stock price of Essel Group’s mentioned listed corporate entities. This consent provides the required amount of time for the Group’s management to complete the strategic sale process of its key assets without any compromise on the value. 

In its official statement issued last week, dated January 27, 2019, the Group had earlier confirmed that an understanding with the lenders was achieved, and the same was finalised at the second round of a detailed meeting on February 3, 2019 held between Essel Group Promoters and lending entities. During the meeting, the lenders once again reinforced their belief and trust in the intrinsic value of the Group’s assets and its promoters’ earnest intention towards complete repayment. 

Meanwhile, the management of Essel Group once again reassured the lending entities that within the mentioned time frame a complete resolution would be achieved, leveraging the stake sale process. 

Speaking on this development, Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Essel Group, said, “I am glad that the formal consent with the lenders has been achieved. For us, while their assurance given last week itself was more than enough, the formal consent seals and justifies their belief and trust in us and the intrinsic value of our assets. As one team, we are now positively focused on completing the strategic sale process, with the esteemed support of our lenders. We thank them for their trust, patience and most above for their complete co-operation extended, enabling us to take the next steps towards resolution.” 

The group of lenders, including MF & NBFCs, expressed their firm stance to support the management of Essel Group. Reaffirming their belief in the promoters’ expertise, experience and earnest efforts towards generating value for their stakeholders, the lenders were extremely confident that within the mentioned time frame, a positive outcome will be achieved.