Reliance Communications (RCom) has received interest for its 125-acre land bank in Mumbai, and reportedly finalised eight bidders for its development and sale. Sources said the company is majorly dependent on proceeds from the land monetisation as it can provide immediate cash to clear pending dues. The Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge Centre (DAKC) campus can be used to develop 20 million sq ft for IT, commercial, and residential space.
Sources said, “Parties include Canada's Brookfield, real-estate companies Wadhwa Group, Raheja and Panchshil, office-space developer RMZ, private-equity players KKR and Blackstone.” HDFC is the independent valuer for the land bank and it is estimated that its value can be in “billions of rupees”. There is, however, no independent confirmation over the exact evaluation numbers. The Mumbai deal is of much importance to the debt-laden company which will shut down its 2G and 3G voice operations by end of this month over recurring losses.
RCom faced a series of setbacks over the past few months after its attempt to strike a merger deal with Aircel fell through. Completion of the deal would have enabled the company to bring down its debt by nearly £1.40 billion. The end of the Aircel deal saw put a plug on the company's tower deal, from which it was expecting to receive £1.10 billion by selling a 51 per cent share. The company is now negotiating fresh deal with other companies.
