 "IDBI Bank to auction four Deccan Chronicle titles")
The public sector lender stated it would transfer the titles of Deccan Chronicle, Andhra Bhoomi, The Asian Age and Financial Chronicle to the highest bidder. The final date for bids is August 27.
"As security for the financial assistance granted by IDBI Bank, DCHL, along with the other co-owners, has created a charge by way of hypothecation on their trademarks," the lender said, adding it had decided to transfer the trademarks to the highest bidder as DCHL had failed to repay the amount it had borrowed. The bank had given a term loan of Rs 250 crore to DCHL.
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In February this year, IDBI had issued a similar notice but this was stayed by the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DBT), due to objections from other lenders. Besides IDBI, other banks and financial institutions have approached the DBT, as well as courts, seeking attachment of the properties of DCHL's promoters and also winding up of the Hyderabad-based media company. DCHL owes about Rs 4,000 crore to 18 lenders.
Indian Overseas Bank had, in April, issued a notice to DCHL under The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, a strictly worded law and meant to help lenders get back their money from borrowers who can't or won't repay, to redeem the Rs 75 crore lent to the company.
Last month, Indiabulls Housing Finance took legal possession of the house belonging to T Urmila Reddy, mother of DCHL promoters T Venkattram Reddy and T Vinayak Reddy, for failure to repay dues of Rs 93 crore. Prior to that, in the same month, the Chandigarh police arrested M Sukumar Reddy, one of the four independent directors who'd all resigned together last year from DCHL, on a cheque bouncing charge filed by Religare Finvest, which had lent Rs 100 crore to the media company. Reddy was later released on bail.
Three months earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation had started a probe into DCHL on a complaint from Canara Bank, of irregularities in the company's balance sheet. The bank, which had done a forensic audit of the accounts, complained the balance sheet did not contain all the loans from banks. Canara had lent Rs 340 crore to DCHL.
The other lenders to DCHL (Andhra Bank with Rs 200 crore at stake, Kotak Mahindra Bank with Rs 95 crore, etc) have also started the process of recovery, from the beginning of this year. The DCHL promoters had tried to get relief from the high court here but their plea for a stay on the legal proceedings initiated by lenders in lower courts was rejected. As usual, efforts to seek the response of the DCHL promoters proved futile. While the mobile phone of vice-chairman P K Iyer was switched off, thestandard response that "Mr Venkatrram Reddy is not available" was received from the chairman's office.