Haldiram's, Vedanta among those in fray to acquire Videocon group companies

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm Haldiram's and the Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group are among the bidders who have submitted their expressions of interest (EoI) to acquire the debt-ridden companies of the Videocon Group.

According to sources, around 10 EoIs have been received for the insolvent company so far.

Currently, 13 companies of the consolidated group are under insolvency proceedings, including Videocon Industries, Videocon Telecommunications, and Electroworld Digital Solutions.

According to sources, other prominent names among the interested players include state-run GAIL and Indonesian billionaire Robert Budi Hartono.

According to Forbes Hartono, along with his brother Michael, owns the popular electronics brand Polytron, prime real estate in Jakarta and a stake in gaming startup Razer.

Robert Hartono's net worth as per Forber as of November 11 was $18.3 billion. People in the know said that most of the other potential bidders may not meet the lenders requisite criteria, as they are smaller players and Videocon has large assets and a huge debt.

The outstanding dues of the from Videocon group to its lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) stand at Rs 20,000 crore. The process to find bidders for the company started in August this year.