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Ever since <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=subroto+roy">Subrata Roy</a> took <keyword id="4637" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sahara">Sahara</keyword> Finance—where he had joined a little earlier as an employee—in late 70s, the ‘managing worker’ of the so-called Sahara Parivar has seen his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Why-Regulators-Fail-To-Tame-Shadowy-Banking-Players/articleshow/41408796.cms">business empire</a> going from strength to strength. Roy seeded his empire on a simple business model— accept deposits of very low amounts from low-income investors as a residuary non-banking company. Between early 1990s when he moved his base to Lucknow, Sahara diversified to real estate, media, entertainment, tourism, healthcare, and hospitality, supposedly becoming the second-largest largest employer in India—just behind Indian Railways—with more than one million employees. 
 The Hindi newspaper Rashtriya Sahara, Aamby Valley City project near Pune, Sahara TV, Sahara Time (English newspaper), Grosevnor House Hotel in London and Plaza Hotel in New York City...the list of <keyword id="3004609" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Saharas-businesses-and-assets">Sahara’s businesses and assets</keyword> kept on growing. 
 
But all that suddenly and dramatically changed on February 26, 2014, when the Supreme Court ordered the arrest of Roy for failing to appear before it in connection with the Rs 24,000 crore deposits his company has not refunded to investors and was arrested a few days later by Uttar Pradesh police and eventually put behind bars at Tihar Jail. 
 
The apex court, which over the last one-and-a-half years extended the time period for Sahara to make payment to release Roy from jail and seemed to have exhausted most of its options, has finally seemed to be making some headway in its bid to squeeze the money Roy owes to investors. It said, it is considering appointing a receiver for Sahara's properties given that a group claiming Rs 1,85,000 crore in assets is unable to pay a meagre Rs 10,000 crore to set its chief free. 
 
The SC is accused of showing unusual patience and leeway in extending the deadline for <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=sahara">Sahara</a> to make the payment. In fact, if we calculate the time from the date of the <keyword id="35210" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="sebi">SEBI</keyword> order of June 2011 asking Sahara to pay up, the group has had nearly five-and-a-half years to comply. The Rs 24,000 crore originally sought from Sahara has ballooned to over Rs 36,000 crore due to accumulated interest. 
 
All these years—a time period an ordinary citizen of the country without the money power Roy has may not be offered in typical court proceedings—Sahara has found innumerable reasons not to pay. It has said the money is already repaid; it is difficult to locate all its small investors; it is difficult to raise so much money at one go, etc. This is despite the fact that the delay is costing the group a bomb in terms of accumulated interest on the amount—Rs 24,000 crore—it was originally asked to pay. Over the years this has ballooned to Rs 36,000 crore, surging by a mammoth Rs 10 crore a day by way of interest. One is forced to ask why someone like Roy is allowing the dues to surge to crazy levels at the order of Rs 10 crore a day—which any sane person would not want to do—by delaying the payment over and over again. 
 
While there may be some truth in the litany of reasons Sahara has been citing as to why it cannot shell out money to close the proceeding and let Roy walk out of jail, the real clue as to why it is reluctant to pay up lies in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=sebi">Sebi</a> order of June 2011 - where it found several Sahara investors to be fictitious - and Supreme Court's own final judgment, where too it referred to the possibility of many of the investors being ‘benami’ ones. 
 
If the real owners of many of Sahara’s assets are fictitious or ‘benami’, then it will be really difficult for Sahara to sell of those assets to ensure release of Roy from prison. 
 
On the other hand, when there is apprehension that many of Sahara's investors may not exist, the best thing for the court to do is to appoint a receiver so that the real ownership can be investigated and the assets can protected from being transferred clandestinely. Positively, after many missteps, the apex court is finally moving in that direction. 
 
Image credits: Indiatimes

Why Subrata Roy is
reluctant to pay dues to investors?

Starting August 5 and for the following 10 days, Delhi’s Tihar jail will have the sort of visitors who generally find themselves working in very different circumstances. They’ll be coming to see Sahara chief Subrata Roy, who’s trying to raise Rs 10,000 crore as a get-out-of-jail card by selling or mortgaging real estate assets. 
 So how is Tihar preparing for this unusual event? A large 30x18 ft conference room with an attached bathroom and a 12x12 ft annexe inside the <keyword id="2456860" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tihar-court">Tihar court</keyword> complex are being readied for Roy and two Sahara directors, Ashok Roy Choudhary and <keyword id="709634" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ravi-Shankar-Dubey">Ravi Shankar Dubey</keyword>, who are also lodged in the same prison. 
 
Jail authorities have sent a letter to Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung to notify the conference room as a special jail but with certain relaxations — phones and laptops, WiFi connectivity and visitors from 6 am to 8 pm on all days except Sundays and gazetted holidays. 
 The <keyword id="31906" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sahara-group">Sahara Group</keyword> will pay for the privileges. The room, which is used for confidential meetings and press briefings by the directorgeneral of prisons, has a 52-inch TV for making presentations, video-conferencing and a table that seats 25. 
 
It also has wood-paneled walls and is fully air-conditioned. 
 
Visitors coming to meet Roy to be frisked 
 
All Visitors Coming to meet Roy to be Frisked Roy’s guests — corporate bigwigs, investors, top lawyers, merchant bankers, et al — will get vegetarian meals, snacks and tea prepared in the jail canteen, which is manned by a few longtime inmates. All visitors will be subject to frisking. 
 
The Sahara chief has been in Tihar jail since March over the issue of refunds to investors in a financial instrument issued by two group companies in violation of norms. The Securities and Exchange Board of India says Sahara has to pay more than Rs 37,000 crore by way of the refund amount and interest. 
 While Sahara says it has already paid much of the money that is due, the <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> has told Roy that he needs to raise Rs 5,000 crore in cash and Rs 5,000 crore by way of bank guarantees to get bail. 
 
The Sahara boss and the two directors are currently housed in a section for inmates above 60. As with other parts of the jail, no cellphones and laptops are allowed and jammers restrict all forms of electronic communications. That’s why Roy and his team need to be relocated. “We can’t switch off the jammers just for one person. It will send a wrong message to others. It could become a precedent of sorts if we allow him privileges inside the jail and other inmates might start asking for similar things then,” said a senior jail official, who did not want to be named. 
 The court order permits Roy and his team to conduct business meetings and negotiations in the designated area. The most valuable properties on the Sahara list are its three international hotels — Grosvenor House Hotel in London and <keyword id="999813" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="The-Plaza">The Plaza</keyword> and Dream Downtown Hotel in New York. 
 
ET reported last month that those looking to buy the properties include the Poonawalla family based in Pune, an investor group linked to the Qatar royal family and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei. 
 
The Poonawallas have made an offer of £550 million for the London property. One of the world’s largest luxury property investors Madison has offered $800 million for Sahara’s New York hotels. 
 
The terms under which Sahara has been allowed to set up the deal room are listed in the affidavit filed by Rajesh Kumar, superintendent of Central Jail No 3 at Tihar. 
 
“They will have to submit a list of visitors to the superintendent in advance. Confidentiality will be maintained,” said the jail official cited above. 
 
In his affidavit, Kumar had also suggested a second option — a guest house at the new residential complex, which is a type V government accommodation with three double rooms, a single room and two toilets — but the conference facility was found more suitable to conduct business. The conference room is within the Tihar court complex, which usually convenes once a month to deal with petty offences. 
 
“It already is a secure place. There is one common entry and exit point that will be monitored by CCTV cameras,” said another official aware of the planning. 
 
Roy and the two directors will stay at the annexe attached to the conference room and will be free to conduct business through the night considering that they will be dealing predominantly with people in the US and Europe. However, secretarial staff will only be allowed at visiting hours. 
 
Tihar jail is a 200-acre facility, the largest prison complex in South Asia, and has different wards for different types of inmates — firsttimers, hardcore criminals and those over 60. Roy and the two directors are housed in a single room in the over-60 block where there are regular medical check-ups and sevadars to take care of prisoners’ basic needs. 
 For health reasons, Roy sometimes asks for khichdi from the jail canteen for which he pays, said the <keyword id="2456859" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="first-jail-official">first jail official</keyword> cited above. He sticks to himself for the most part and is usually meditating on his own, the person said.

Tihar Turns Business Centre For Sahara Chief Subrata Roy's Asset Sale Talks

New Delhi, Mar 4 () Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday disposed of proceedings against Onelife Capital Advisors after it withdrew application to become Sahara Mutual Fund's sponsor.Sebi issued a show cause notice to Onelife, asking why its application, filed in May 2018 to become Sahara Mutual Fund's sponsor, should not be rejected, and had alleged the company was in non-compliance to various mutual fund regulations.After several submissions and hearings, Onelife eventually on December 31, 2019 wrote to Sebi to withdraw its application."As the application to act as a Sponsor of Sahara Mutual Fund has been decided to be withdrawn and the same has been accepted by Sebi, the extant proceedings becomes infructuous," the regulator said in its order.In July 2015, Sebi had cancelled Sahara Mutual Fund's registration saying it was no longer "fit and proper" to carry out the business and ordered transfer of its operations to another fund house. It had also directed cancellation of Sahara MF's registration on expiry of a six-month period.Later in April 2018, Sebi had directed Sahara Mutual Fund to wind up all its schemes except Sahara Tax Gain Fund, which was permitted to continue till July 27, 2018.Prior to the Sebi's order, Onelife had approached Sebi in March 2018 seeking to acquire Sahara Asset Management Company and become sponsor of Sahara Mutual Fund, but the regulator rejected the application citing non-compliance of the acquirer to mutual fund regulations.Subsequently, Onelife and Sahara AMC had approached the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which had asked them to submit a fresh application with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and Onelife filed this application in May 2018. SRS BJBAL

Sebi disposes of proceedings against Onelife Cap as it withdraws application to be Sahara MF sponsor

New Delhi, Feb 12 () Hopeful of all its problems getting resolved this year, embattled Sahara group's chief Subrata Roy has said two large foreign investors have been roped in for real estate and city development businesses and nearly Rs 22,000 crore deposited with regulator Sebi will also eventually come back. Roy has also assured all Sahara investors that they would get their invested amount with full interest and an additional interest would be paid even for a day's delay. In a letter to investors on the occasion of the group's 42nd Foundation Day, celebrated on February 1, Roy said the group always kept intact its tradition of timely payments and excellence in services but there has been delay in payments during the last seven years at certain places due to "some undesirable circumstances". Referring to a long-running dispute with capital market regulator Sebi over funds garnered by two group firms through issuance of certain bonds, Roy said the entire amount generated through sale or mortgage of assets or from joint ventures had to be deposited in a Sebi-Sahara account due to an embargo imposed by the Supreme Court. "Out of this, we cannot use even a single rupee for organisational work or even towards repayment to the esteemed investors," Roy wrote. Roy said Sahara has huge land parcels but developing townships or colonies on them has been difficult due to lack of funds for internal infrastructural development and for the requirement of depositing in Sebi-Sahara account any advance payment taken from residential unit buyers. He, however, said these problems would be resolved soon as "two esteemed foreign investors with huge funds are coming with us in our real estate and city development businesses". "Keeping in mind the directions of the Supreme Court, certain agreements have been signed, which will resolve Sahara's problems within this year, that is 2020," Roy said. Sebi had ordered Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL) and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL) in 2011 to refund the money raised from around three crore investors through Optionally Fully Convertible Bonds (OFCDs). After a long process of appeals and cross-appeals, the Supreme Court on August 31, 2012 upheld Sebi's directions asking the two firms to refund the money collected from investors with 15 per cent interest. Sahara was eventually asked to deposit an estimated Rs 24,000 crore with Sebi for further refund to investors, though the group has always maintained it amounted to "double payment" as it had already refunded more than 95 per cent investors directly. Giving an update on the Sahara-Sebi matter, the government informed Parliament this Monday that Sahara group has deposited Rs 15,448.67 crore to 'Sebi-Sahara Refund" account as on February 1, 2020, while a cheque of Rs 41.59 crore has also been given by the group in late January, which the court has directed to be accepted without prejudice. Replying to a Lok Sabha question, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Thakur further said that Sebi had received 19,560 applications in total involving 53,361 bond certificates for an aggregate amount of Rs 81.3 crore. Out of this, Sebi has made refunds with respect to 14,146 applications, involving 39,499 certificates, for an aggregate amount of Rs 109.86 crore (including Rs 58.52 crore as principal and Rs 51.34 crore as an interest), the minister said. Thakur also said Sebi had issued advertisements advising investors to file their refund claims and last such advertisements were issued on March 26 and June 19 in the year 2018, informing the investors that July 2, 2018 was the last date for receiving refund applications and no claim would be accepted after the cut-off date. The investors were told it was their last and final opportunity to claim refund. Talking about the refund process, Roy said in his letter to investors that nearly Rs 22,000 crore was deposited in the Sebi-Sahara account (including the principal amount and the interest accrued on the same) till date, but Sebi could repay little over Rs 100 crore to investors despite giving four rounds of advertisements in 154 newspapers across the country. "In the fourth advertisement, Sebi had clearly written that hereafter, it will not entertain any claims. This last advertisement appeared about a year ago, which means that no further payments are pending. As per the instructions of the Supreme Court, Rs 22,000 crore will eventually come back to Sahara after verification," Roy said. As per the latest available figures, the pending refund applications with Sebi are estimated to involve maximum Rs 20-25 crore, excluding interest component. In its last annual report, Sebi had said Rs 20,173 crore (the recovered amount along with the interest earned on them after providing for refunds made to the investors) was deposited in nationalised banks as on March 31, 2019 as per the Supreme Court order regarding the money lying in 'Sebi-Sahara Refund' account. Roy said various restrictions are making it difficult for the group to do business and things could have been set right much earlier "if only we had a bit of relaxation to do business in housing development". He said the group has thousands of acres of land across India, but they are spread over a number of large parcels of 100-300 acres and there are no ready buyers for such big plots due to a prevalent downturn in the real estate market. While there are a few willing buyers, they are offering one-fourth or even less of the real value, but a deal at such low rates is not possible because Sahara is not allowed to make any sale below 90 per cent of the government circle rate, he said. BJ MKJ

All problems to be resolved in 2020; two foreign investors roped in for realty, city development biz: Sahara chief

November 11, 2024, is well on its way to becoming a milestone in the history of Indian aviation. As Vistara merges with Air India, India will be left with just one full-service carrier—down from five operators over the past 17 years. Singapore Airlines, which currently owns 49% of Vistara, will hold a 25.1% stake in the merged Air India entity. The merger represents another chapter in the evolving story of foreign investment in Indian aviation, following the 2012 liberalization that allowed overseas carriers to acquire up to 49% stakes in domestic airlines. Just days ago, the Supreme Court ordered the liquidation of all assets of Jet Airways, once India's premier airline, which has been grounded since 2019. After five long years of being unable to service its debts, the court rejected the airline's takeover bid a few days ago. The company's assets are valued at approximately Rs 1,066.75 crore, which includes 6 luxury cars, a Boeing 777-35 aircraft in Amsterdam worth Rs 376.4 crore as of June 2019, spare parts, and various other properties. Jet Airways also holds about 15,000 sq. meter floor in Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex, which is priced at Rs 683 crore, per court documents. <h2>Falling from the sky </h2>In 2007, Air India merged with Indian Airlines with Air India. Since then, several full-service carriers have disappeared: Kingfisher Airlines ceased operations in 2012, while Air Sahara, later known as JetLite after its acquisition by Jet Airways, followed Jet's collapse in 2019. Foreign investments in Indian carriers began with Etihad Airways acquiring a 24% stake in Jet Airways. This was followed by AirAsia's 49% investment in AirAsia India and Singapore Airlines' partnership in Vistara. However, the industry has increasingly shifted toward low-cost carriers, with IndiGo emerging as India's dominant airline. As of January 2024, data from DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) showed that Indigo dominates Indian skies, with a 62.4% share. This was followed by Air India, which has a 14.7% share. Vistara, which will merge operations with Air India starting tomorrow, holds a 10.3% stake, while Air India Express has a 5.3%. However, industry experts are now finding that the distinction between full-service and low-cost carriers has become increasingly blurred, with some budget airlines now offering business-class seating. Full-service carriers traditionally differentiate themselves through inclusive meal services and diverse aircraft fleets. What differentiates full-service carriers (FSC) from low-cost carriers (LCC) is their focus on profitability and reliance on a single revenue source like airport lounge access and loyalty programs. While FSCs rely on network profitability and have multiple income sources, LCCs generally prioritize route profitability and stick to a single, standardized type of aircraft to reduce costs.

Indian aviation sector now down to just a single full-service carrier, ahead of Vistara's merger with Air India

<ul><li><keyword id="19912128" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="chandra" source="keywords">Chandra</keyword> hit upon the idea to launch a TV channel after he saw big hotels showing CNN via satellite dishes during the Gulf War.</li><li><keyword id="19976119" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee" source="keywords">Zee</keyword> was India’s first private TV channel and had pioneered many superhit TV shows, reality shows and kickstarted the careers of many media barons.</li><li>Chandra entered the infrastructure business and planned a hostile takeover of IVRCL which failed.</li><li>By the mid-2010s, his new ventures had piled up a huge debt which pushed him to sell stake in crown jewel, Zee.</li></ul>Remember Hum Paanch? <keyword id="20328693" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee-antakshari" source="keywords">Zee Antakshari</keyword>? Phillips Top 10? These shows, now shared around social media by nostalgia lovers, were the first taste of Hindi TV programmes for many millennials. The generation saw the country move away from one or two channels with very limited entertainment programming; with the entry of private companies into satellite programming, forcing Indians to buy TVs that needed remotes. The man who made this revolution possible was Subhash Chandra, a bright young man from Hisar. Born into an Agrawal Bania family, Chandra entered into business early in his life, and in the 70s before TV wasn’t around in India. After his family business fell into debt, he had to abruptly leave college, go back to Haryana and work on repaying debts. He started off running a pulse polishing mill with moderate success, but his fortunes improved as he supplied grains to Food Corporation of India (FCI). By late 80s and early 90s, he was exporting rice and soybeans to Russia, and had also started a packaging company. It was all running smoothly, until one election season he saw that politicians were renting out vans with projectors and screens for their roadshows. He later learnt that Five-Star Hotels owned satellite dishes and were telecasting CNN during the Gulf War. That’s when the idea of broadcasting content with ads in between came to him, he told Outlook Business in <a href="https://www.outlookbusiness.com/specials-34/secret-diary-of-an-entrepreneur_2018/live-in-the-present-dont-recount-and-regret-the-past-4353">Secret Diary of Subhash Chandra</a>. <div type="image" title="hum paanch twitter" msid="107136147" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Source: Twitter (Now X) &amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> The realm of reality TV As he went about it, he was laughed off by DD executives, who coolly told him that they employ hundreds of people and equipment worth thousands of crores. He then intended to lease a transponder in Hong Kong and broadcast from there. STAR’s Li Ka-shing was not so receptive to the idea of broadcasting business in India. After many twists and turns, he rented a transponder; and India’s got its first Hindi channel in the Star bouquet in 1992. Initially there was only three hours of programming, with reruns of old DD serials. But it soon branched<a href="https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/JV7xB6PWkkl5q2Glq8tT8K/The-zee-story-turns-20.html"> out with chat shows </a>like Chakravyuha. Many media barons like Ronnie Screwala who produced the chat show started their careers at Zee. Pritish Nandy also had a show on it called Fiscal Fitness. The hugely popular Aap Ki Adalat, which now airs on India TV, also debuted on Zee. Rajat Sharma, its popular interviewer, also expanded the group’s political vista. The Union Minister Smriti Irani was briefly a stringer for Zee News which was launched later by the group. She, however, also became the star of Star Plus’ super hit TV show Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi in early 2000s. In addition to comedy shows, Zee diversified into drama shows like Neena Gupta starring Parampara in addition to <keyword id="20328692" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee-horror-show" source="keywords">Zee Horror Show</keyword>. Its hugely popular Antakshari show was hosted by stars like Renuka Shahane, Pallavi Joshi and Annu Kapoor. <div type="image" title="annu kapoor" msid="107136187" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Source: Twitter (Now X)&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> Bags of fan mail In spite of growing success, Chandra had to convince advertisers to shift from print and outdoor ads to TV advertising. He did it by lugging along bags of fan mail sent by viewers of his shows. By the time other players saw how valuable reaching all over India with Hindi shows was, he was miles ahead. He added more channels across movies, music in addition to news, across languages to his bouquet. By the time the world entered the new millennium, he had captured a large chunk of India’s eyeballs, not to mention hearts. The deal with Richard Li, son of Li Ka-shing also included an option to buy 25% stake in the venture within a year. By the time he realised it was good business, the option had long expired. Chandra refused to sell him the stake, took his company public, and the issue was subscribed 60 times over. The goatee-sporting man had become one of India’s first media barons and a billionaire. A failed hostile takeover By 2004, his media conglomerate was running steady, but Chandra, true to himself, was already hunting for the next big bet. The sector he chose was infrastructure. Back then, India was building roads, adding power generation as well as distribution assets, and setting-up ports and airports with a renewed fervour. Many small regional players like GMR and GVK became national companies after they won large-scale airport projects. It seemed like a good business. However, by the time Chandra entered it in 2008, the sector was showing signs of fatigue, due to credit crunch and more. Players were seeing the effects of adding heavy debt onto books. One such company was Hyderabad-based IVRCL which had a good set of projects, sizeable orderbook but was crushing under debt, in 2012. It was borrowing money for working capital purposes, and projects were moving ahead slower. Chandra believed that a hostile takeover of the company would catalyse its infra business which was executing a few highway projects. He went in and acquired a tad over 12% stake in the company when IVRCL too changed track. It stopped bidding for new projects, started monetising its projects and paring down its debt. Eventually Chandra had to sell off his stock at a loss. Takeovers are a high stakes game. Though the financials were never disclosed, the assumption, based on the company’s market cap at that time, he might have spent ₹200 crore on it. On the other hand, its own infrastructure business never scaled up later on, and continued to report deep losses for the next few years. It was a strategy gone wrong, as he later admitted in his open letter. Politics to pledging In 2016, Chandra made his political debut to become a Rajya Sabha MP representing BJP in Haryana. The close contest between him and the Congress candidate R K Anand was also interesting in other ways too. Chandra was declared winner after 14 votes were made invalid as they used the wrong pens. In 2022, Chandra changed his ‘native home <a href="https://www.newslaundry.com/2022/06/08/why-subhash-chandras-rajya-sabha-dreams-are-now-congresss-nightmares">town’ to Rajasthan</a> and filed his nomination as an independent candidate backed by BJP. He however accepted defeat after he fell short of over 40 votes. On the other end, his business was branching out into many businesses, with varying successes, soaking in capital. It entered financial services, acquired Peerless Mutual Fund, investment banking, private equity and much more. It went into education with a chain of K-12 schools, gold refineries in addition to related media businesses like Fun Cinemas and Dish TV. He also had plans for a wellness company. These expansions came at a cost, and a huge debt. The group soon had 87 operating companies which had straddled debt to the tune of ₹17,000 crore, as per estimates. How was so much money raised? The promoters had to pledge their shares in listed entities like Zee Entertainment, Dish TV, Zee Media Corporation, SITI Networks, <keyword id="19960022" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="zee-learn" source="keywords">Zee Learn</keyword> and Shirpur Gold refinery. Reports suggest that <a href="https://www.thequint.com/amp/story/news%2Fbusiness%2Fdoes-zee-news-need-a-commercial-bank-subhash-chandra#read-more">anywhere between 60-90% of their </a>shares in these companies were pledged with lenders in the mid-2010s. The chickens however came to roost in 2018 when the<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/ilfs-crisis-spilling-beyond-finance-chandras-zee-feeling-the-heat/articleshow/67734787.cms?from=mdr"> NBFC IL&amp;FS bankruptcy spooke</a>d the markets, making it tough for him to rollover debt. The loss of crown jewel Soon, the promoters were forced to sell the stake that they had pledged. Zee’s promoter shareholding fell from 42% to a dismal 4% in its crown jewel, Zee Entertainment. In the meanwhile, its flagship Zee’s earnings also started dwindling, worrying analysts and investors; that led the market regulator to look into it. Between 2021 and 2023, its profits slid by 48%. In 2021, for the second time in two years, Chandra admitted to his mistakes that led to default. He announced <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/subhash-chandra-claims-91-debt-with-43-lenders-settled/articleshow/85007881.cms?from=mdr">that he had settled</a> 91% of his debts with 43 lenders. “I have no regrets for parting with a substantial ownership in the business and specially in the jewels of the crown,” he said in an open letter. Apart from the promoter crisis, the businesses were moving at a slow pace too. Satellite pay TV has become less attractive to viewers now used to streaming. Dish TV, owned by his brother, has been losing steam as well. Edtech is facing its own existential crisis. His digital ventures of Zee5 progressed but at a slow rate due to heavy competition. There are no updates on his plans for its metaverse venture, oddly named Maayaverse. On top of it, Zee’s plans to merge with Sony fell through, after two years of negotiations. Sony is also seeking a $90 million termination fee, which Zee intends to contest. That means more legal troubles, barely a year after it settled a dispute with J C Flowers, an asset reconstruction company. Chandra and his son Puneet Goenka are now part of a <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/sebi-subhash-chandra-punit-goenka-sebis-flowcharts-explain-how-zee-bosses-allegedly-faked-loan-recovery-4119857">probe by market regulator SEBI</a>, to see if money was siphoned off from the listed entities. That would be a tough spot to any businessman, let alone one who is devoid of crown jewels and without a seat in the parliament. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/webstories/subrata-roys-journey-from-lucknows-sahara-shahar-to-londons-grosvenor-house-to-tihar-jail/slidelist/105234003.cms">Subrata Roy’s journey from Lucknow’s Sahara Shahar to London’s Grosvenor House to Tihar Jail</a>

From A to Zee: Subhash Chandra’s spectacular rise and fall

As many as 48 companies, including Reliance Retail, Jindal Power Ltd and Adani Group, are on the final list of eligible prospective resolution applicants for acquiring debt-ridden Future Retail Ltd. The <keyword id="17234676" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="resolution-professional-of-future-retail-ltd" source="Orion">Resolution Professional of Future Retail Ltd</keyword> (<keyword id="658389" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="frl" source="Orion">FRL</keyword>), which is currently going through an insolvency resolution process, on Monday came out with the final list of 'Eligible Prospective Resolution Applicants'. On April 10, FRL's RP updated a list of 49 companies, which had submitted Expressions of Interest (EoIs) after the company's lenders decided to invite fresh bids after dividing its assets into clusters. Some of the other players who had submitted EoIs include <keyword id="17234674" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="whsmith-travel-ltd" source="Orion">WHSmith Travel Ltd</keyword>, Sahara Enterprises, Century Copper Corp, Greentech worldwide, <keyword id="1726468" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="harsha-vardhan-reddy" source="Orion">Harsha Vardhan Reddy</keyword>, J C Flowers Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd, Pinnacle Air Pvt Ltd and <keyword id="17234675" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="universal-associates" source="Orion">Universal Associates</keyword>. Except for Bommidala Enterprises, an Andhra Pradesh-based manufacturer of tobacco products, all companies have been included in the final list. Bommidala Enterprises indicated that it will not be submitting a resolution plan. Earlier this month, the Mumbai-based NCLT bench granted FRL an extension of 90 days till July 15, 2023, for concluding the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). On March 23, 2023, creditors of FRL invited new EoIs whereby prospective buyers can bid for the debt-ridden firm "as a going concern or individual cluster or a combination of clusters of its assets", as it failed to attract a resolution plan in more than four months. Earlier, it had received EoIs and finalised 11 prospective bidders, including Reliance and <keyword id="15486694" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="april-moon-retail" source="Orion">April Moon Retail</keyword>, but could not get a resolution plan despite two extensions in the deadline for submissions. The Committee of Creditors had provided two options in the EoI, for which the last date for submission was April 7, 2023. In the first option, the Prospective Resolution Applicant (PRA) could bid for the acquisition of FRL as a whole, including its shareholding interest in the subsidiaries. Under the second option, FRL's business has been distributed into five clusters and PRAs can bid for "any individual cluster or any combination of clusters". "Having regard to the complexity and scale of operations of FRL, the resolution professional has, in consultation with and prior approval of the <keyword id="230701" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="coc" source="Orion">CoC</keyword> of FRL, categorised the business of the corporate debtor in five clusters," as per the new EoI. CIRP was initiated against FRL by its lender Bank of India following loan defaults. Under the Insolvency &amp; Bankruptcy Code, EoI was invited from prospective bidders on October 4, 2022. FRL operated multiple retail formats in both the hypermarket supermarket and home segments under brands such as Big Bazaar, Easyday, and Foodhall. At its peak, FRL was operating more than 1,500 outlets in nearly 430 cities. It was part of the 19 Future group companies operating in the retail, wholesale, logistic and warehousing segments, which were supposed to be transferred to Reliance Retail as part of a Rs 24,713 crore deal announced in August 2020. However, lenders had rejected the takeover of the 19 Future group companies, including FRL, by Reliance amid a legal challenge by Amazon. Last year in August, stock market regulator Sebi ordered a forensic audit of the accounts of FRL for the financial years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/vedanta-resources-cuts-gross-debt-by-usd-1-billion/articleshow/99731225.cms">Vedanta Resources cuts gross debt by USD 1 billion</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/personal-finance/news/five-popular-investments-under-80c-in-2023-24/articleshow/99732870.cms">5 popular deductions you can claim under Section 80C in 2023-24</a>

Future Retail insolvency process: 48 cos selected as eligible prospective bidders

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><a href="http://www.fairmont.com/the-plaza-new-york/media/photos/">The Plaza New York</a>The Plaza Hotel in New York City, which President Donald Trump once called "the ultimate trophy in the world."</div></div></div><ul><li>A big deal, involving a supposed $375-million cryptocurrency token offering, is not going as planned, people familiar with the situation tell Business Insider.</li><li>A foreign group is trying to buy the famed Plaza Hotel from the Sahara Group.</li></ul>A reported deal to buy New York's Plaza Hotel is not going as planned, people familiar with the situation tell Business Insider.<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/27/up-next-for-crypto-crazed-investors-a-slice-of-nycs-plaza-hotel.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC reported in March</a> that Chimera, a foreign entity, was considering running a $375 million-plus ICO, a cryptocurrency twist on the initial public offering process, to help purchase the famed Plaza from the Sahara Group, a firm based in India.It is a project that "Shark Tank" investor Kevin O'Leary alluded to during an appearance on CNBC."There's a big deal coming in New York in the next three weeks," O'Leary said, referring to a "very prestigious hotel.""It's a $400 million coin issuance for a real asset you've heard of," he added.Still, it's unclear if the ICO will ever happen.Sources told Business Insider that the deal would first involve a private transaction in which Chimera would raise more than $675 million to purchase the Plaza. A public token offering to pay off the debt from the original transaction was considered as a next step. The sources doubt whether either will come to fruition.The deal is not progressing, according to multiple people, and it is failing to attract enough investors. The people have walked away from the deal.Multiple sources told Business Insider that O'Leary is not directly involved in the deal, yet.The Plaza has been up for sale since 2017, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/famed-plaza-hotel-is-on-the-block-1503394221?mg=prod/accounts-wsj" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>. The property, which can be valued above $500 million, has attracted dozens of potential buyers, The Journal reported.Once declaring it "the ultimate trophy in the world," President Donald Trump bought the NYC landmark in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/27/nyregion/plaza-hotel-is-sold-to-donald-trump-for-390-million.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1988</a>, declared bankruptcy on the property in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1992/12/12/business/company-news-trump-s-plaza-hotel-bankruptcy-plan-approved.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1992</a>, and sold it in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/12/business/trump-is-selling-plaza-hotel-to-saudi-and-asian-investors.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1995</a>.After it changed hands a few more times, Sahara bought a controlling stake in the Plaza for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/23/nyregion/plaza-hotel-for-sale-subrata-roy.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$570 million in 2012</a>.Business Insider reached out to O'Leary and Chimera lead investor Shahal Khan and will update this post if they respond. The Sahara Group didn't respond to a request for comment.Get the latest Bitcoin price <a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/BTC-USD">here.&gt;&gt;</a> <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/bitcoin-101?IR=T&amp;utm_source=businessinsider&amp;utm_medium=ctgr&amp;utm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_content=fintech_ctgr_leadgen&amp;utm_campaign=fintech_ctgr_leadgen_bitcoin-101"></a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dropbox-ceo-drew-houston-on-rejecting-steve-jobs-offer-2018-3">How one CEO went from rejecting an offer from Steve Jobs to an $11 billion IPO</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Investors are walking away from a deal that might involve a $375 million cryptocurrency fundraise to buy New York's legendary Plaza Hotel

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:275px"><div class="image"></div><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/actress-emma-stone-arrives-at-the-2012-mtv-movie-awards-news-photo/145698253">Christopher Polk/Getty Images</a></div>Good morning. Here's what you need to know.
<ul>
<li>Asian markets were higher in overnight trading with the Nikkei up 2.86 percent on reports that the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-stocks-had-a-huge-day-as-leaders-discussed-one-of-the-most-taboo-ideas-in-all-of-economic-policy-2013-1">central bank and ministry of Finance</a> are talking about cooperating more on policy. The Shanghai Composite was up 1.41 percent. Europe is mixed. And the U.S. is lower early in the trading session.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-q4-2012-gdp-2013-1">Chinese Q4 GDP beat expectations rising 7.9 percent year-over-year (YoY)</a>. Bank of America's Ting Lu wrote that policymakers are unlikely to change stimulus. Industrial production in December was up 10.3 percent YoY. This added to signs that the economy is recovering. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/most-reliable-chinese-economic-indicators-2013-1">The 5 Chinese economic indicators that experts trust &gt;</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>China also released its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-q4-2012-gdp-2013-1">2012 fixed asset investment (FAI) reading</a> which came in at 20.6 percent. This is being boosted by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-new-leaders-land-reforms-2012-11">Beijing's plans to speed up urbanization</a>. Meanwhile, retail sales were up 15.2 percent. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-electricity-usage-q4-2012-2013-1">Electricity consumption</a> was up 5.5 percent on the year.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/18/us-ge-results-idUSBRE90H0J920130118">General Electric fourth quarter profits were up 7.5 percent beating expectations.</a> The company reported earnings of $0.38 per share, on revenue of $39.33 billion. This reflects CEO Jeff Immelt's focus on the energy equipment business. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/americas-most-controversial-stocks-2013-1">The 22 most controversial stocks in America &gt;</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-most-see-damage-if-us-debt-limit-not-raised-2013-1">53 percent of Americans think the failure to extend the debt limit</a>, and a resulting default, will leave the country facing a major economic crisis, according to an Associated Press-GfK poll. Meanwhile, Republican leaders have said the may temporarily extend the debt limit to avoid default. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/dylan-grice-book-recommendations-2013-1">Dylan Grice: Here are 22 books everyone must read &gt;</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
In more earnings news, <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/18/schlumberger-results-idUSL4N0AN47G20130118">Schlumberger beat expectations</a> when it reported Q4 earnings of $1.08 per share, on revenue of $11.17 billion. Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2013-01-18/morgan-stanley-beats-estimates-on-increase-in-brokerage-revenue">Morgan Stanley beat expectations </a>reporting Q4 profit of $0.45 per share ex-accounting charges.
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/michigan-consumer-confidence-january-2013-1">Consumer sentiment for January unexpectedly fell to 71.3 &gt;</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/uk-retail-sales-2013-1">UK retail sales declined 0.1 percent month-over-month</a>, but were up 0.3 percent on the year. This missed expectations of a 0.2 percent monthly rise, and year-over-year rise of one percent.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/18/us-sahara-crisis-idUSBRE90F1JJ20130118">22 foreign hostages in Sahara were unaccounted for on Friday</a>, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, their captors have threatened to attack energy installations after Algerian forces entered a desert gas station to free hundreds of captives.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/live-lance-armstrong-oprah-interview-2013-1">In a 90-minute interview with Oprah last night, Lance Armstrong's confessed</a> that he started cheating in the mid-1990s, and took EPO - a performance enhancing drug, blood transfusions, and testosterone. He also denied former teammate Tyler Hamilton's story that he tested positive at the 2001 Tour de Suisse and covered it up.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Bonus - <a href="http://www.wmagazine.com/celebrities/2013/02/emma-stone-gangster-squad-actress-cover-story">Emma Stone told W magazine</a> that the undergarments she had to wear in The Gangster Squad were "demanding" but made her "more poised".</li>
</ul>
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You Searched For "Saharas businesses and assets" and got 11 results

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