Cash-strapped retail chain Subhiksha today said its ongoing corporate debt restructuring (CDR) will have to end by July this year "at any rate", although it expects the process to be completed before April-end.
"(The) CDR is a time bound process of maximum 180 days. It has to end at any rate by July 2009," Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd Managing Director R Subramanian told PTI in an e-mailed reply.
He was replying to a query on how much more time would be required for the CDR to be considered as officially over.
Subramanian, however, refused to state clearly whether the company would be making use of the time available till July for the CDR.
"We are merely stating the position that it can't extend beyond 180 days. We are not suggesting that it will get delayed beyond the old estimate (of April end). We believe the restructuring will be agreed before end-April," he said.
"As we are running costs on a daily basis, we would like to take least time than most time. Completion of CDR means completion of all work including formalities of documentation," Subramanian said.
More From This Section
The company had initiated the CDR in January-February with the aim of becoming eligible to re-start business and raise liquidity to the tune of Rs 300 crore.
Subhiksha had a nationwide network of around 1,600 stores when operations came to a standstill in January this year due to liquidity crunch.
Subramanian said the company now hopes to make around 75 per cent of them operational post-CDR.
The company had in early March declared its intention to close down around 350-400 stores permanently citing low sales and high rentals.
He said the first task post-CDR is to "restart the business and get business back on track."
Asked about the prospects for the Rs 300 crore liquidity injection, Subramanian said: "That money would be tied up at the time of formal closure of CDR process."
He, however, did not disclose the identity of lender institutions who are likely to fund Subhiksha's revival.