IL&FS revival plan could include stake sales - government official

By Manoj Kumar and Promit Mukherjee

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - The new board of debt-laden Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) will come up with a revival plan for the lender that could include selling stakes in some of its businesses, an Indian government official said.

The official, who declined to be named, ruled out any budgetary support for IL&FS, an infrastructure financing and building company, which has 348 businesses and debts of 910 billion rupees ($12.39 billion). State-owned firms own nearly 40 percent of the company.

In a court-led process, the government this month replaced IL&FS's board with six industry professionals to tackle the debt crisis at the company which has spooked markets and triggered fears for the stability of India's shadow banking sector.

 

"We are confident that the new management will come up with a roadmap for the revival of the company," the official told Reuters on Monday. "The government will not give any money from its budget."

Finance Ministry spokesman D.S. Malik declined to comment.

The official said state-controlled Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC), which holds a 25.34 percent stake in IL&FS, could pump more money into the troubled company.

The revival plan could include selling big stakes in its businesses, including IL&FS Financial Services and IL&FS Energy Development, or even "closing" them, the official said.

He said the government could also ask state-run road developer, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), to take over some of IL&FS' incomplete road projects and award them to other companies.

Separately, IL&FS said on Monday that its board had appointed Arpwood Capital and JM Financial Consultants to provide financial and transaction advice.

Arpwood Capital is a boutique investment bank and JM Financial is a financial services group operating across investment banking, asset management and broking.

The IL&FS board also said it had retained consultancy firm Alvarez and Marsal, which was hired by the previous board, as restructuring advisers to the group.

($1 = 73.4650 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Jane Merriman)