SBI invites EoIs for Videocon’s oil & gas assets

New Delhi: The State Bank of India (SBI) has invited Expression of Interest (EoI) for overseas oil and gas assets of Videocon Industries Ltd in a bid to recover the billions of dollars that the private firm owes to the lender. Videocon Industries has outstanding loans totalling Rs 600 billion ($8.53 billion).

According to a Reuters report, the state-run lender said that it has appointed consultant Deloitte to find buyers for Videocon's exploration assets in Brazil and Indonesia. "It is a process where qualified parties from India and overseas will be invited to bid for the assets," a banker involved in the process said, adding that the last date for submitting EoIs would be received until August 22.

Videocon has oil & gas assets in India, Brazil & Indonesia

Videocon has oil and gas assets in India, Brazil and Indonesia. This is in addition to its now-defunct consumer electronics business in India. The company acquire oil and gas assets in Brazil and Mozambique over a decade ago.

However, the company was forced to sell its asset in Mozambique to a consortium of Indian state-owned companies led by Oil and Natural Gas Corp Ltd in 2014 for $2.4 billion because of its rising debt.

The backdrop

The investment banking arm of the SBI — SBI Caps — was appointed to start the process of the valuation and monetisation of the firm's overseas oil and gas assets in October. The company was admitted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in January this year.