Acquisition of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) by the Piramal group has been approved by the Reserve Bank of India. The Piramal Group will be acquiring DHFL at Rs 34,250 crore. The group had outbid Oaktree last month which is a US-based asset management company.
Piramal plans to merge DHFL with its financial services business as soon as the National
Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approves the transaction.
"We understand that the RBI has approved the DHFL resolution plan from Piramal Capital and Housing Finance, submitted by the CoC (committee of creditors)," the company said in a statement.
On January 15, the lenders to DHFL voted in favour of Piramal’s debt resolution plan for DHFL, paving the way for the turnaround of the bankrupt housing finance company. Piramal had offered upfront cash of Rs 14,700 crore, including cash on DHFL’s balance sheet, and a deferred component (non-convertible debentures) of Rs 19,550 crore.
The acquisition is in line with the Piramal group’s strategy to diversify its loan book, and a step towards the demerger of the group’s financial services and pharma businesses in future. A Piramal group official said the company planned to merge its financial services business with DHFL and retain all employees; it could even hire additional staff to grow the business.
