Friday, July 3, 2009

Maytas Infra gets bank lifeline

Crisis-ridden and cash-starved Maytas Infra got a lifeline when a consortium of 18 banks approved the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package for the company. As part of this, Maytas will get Rs 100 crore as working capital, besides more time to repay loans.

With this, the company is back in the reckoning for the Hyderabad Metro Rail project. The fate of the Rs 12,000-crore project is hanging in balance because Maytas Metro consortium has been unable to achieve financial closure due to lack of funds. It has asked the state government for extension of the deadline. Now the funds from the banks might come in handy to pay the performance guarantee that is due from the company, analysts averred.
“The bankers will pay Rs 100 crore as working capital to the company and provide another Rs 200 crore as bank guarantee,” confirmed Ved Jain, the government appointed director of Maytas Infra, on Thursday in New Delhi after a board meeting.

The CDR package was approved by 18 banks including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, IDBI Bank and Indian Overseas Bank.

According to the company, it had earlier sought Rs 600 crore — Rs 200 crore to be fund-based and Rs 400 core non fund-based.

Out of this, it requested Rs 100 crore fund-based and Rs 200 core non fund-based to be released immediately with the balance to be made available in the next three months based on the company’s performance. This has been accepted by the lenders.

Further, Jain said that for the outstanding debt of Rs 1,600 crore, the banks have given the company more time to repay it. According to the terms of the CDR, the company will start repaying loans after three years and have 10 years to clear its dues.

Jain said the issues concerning the extension of the time period for the metro rail project is pending with the state government and would be sorted out shortly.

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