Central Bank Wins Bid for Future's Insurance Stakes

New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) Central Bank of India on Wednesday said it has emerged as the successful bidder for the stake acquisition of debt-ridden Future Enterprises Ltd (FEL) in life and general insurance venture.

Central Bank of India has been declared as the successful bidder by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) for the sale of Category 1 assets of FEL in Future Generali India Life Insurance Company Limited and Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited, the state-owned bank said in a regulatory filing.

The Letter of Intent dated August 20, 2024, is received by the bank in this regard, it added.

Future Enterprises owns a 25 per cent stake in Future Generali India Insurance Company and a 33 per cent stake in Future Generali Life Insurance.

On July 20, 2022, the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ordered initiating insolvency resolution proceedings against the debt-ridden FRL and dismissed objections raised by e-commerce major Amazon.

The NCLT has passed the order after allowing the petition filed by the Bank of India (BoI), following loan defaults by FRL -- the flagship firm of the Kishore Biyani-led group.

Under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code, a company facing insolvency proceedings is protected under moratorium, and during that period any recovery through suits, decree, arbitration etc. is prohibited.

The Future group is facing financial trouble after its Rs 24,713-crore deal announced in August 2020 to sell its retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing assets to Reliance Industries Ltd could not materialise.

The deal was called off by Reliance in April after it failed to get lenders' support.