India’s market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India had decided to auction 60 properties owned by the Sahara group of companies in the next four months. SEBI has roped in HDFC Realty and SBI Capital Markets, an arm of the State Bank of India, for the task following a Supreme Court order.
The auction across 14 states is expected to bring in at least Rs 6,500 crore. While HDFC Realty has been asked to auction a total of 31 land parcels at Rs 2,400 crore, SBI Capital Markets was tasked to auction another 30 properties of an estimated market value around Rs 4,100 crore.
The move has been initiated to raise bail money needed for the group's jailed chairman Subrata Roy. After spending two years in jail, Roy is currently out on parole. Roy, founder and chairman of the company, was sent to Tihar Jail in March 2014, after he failed to comply with a court order, which directed him to refund money that was raised from investors by selling them bonds that were later ruled illegal. Sahara needs to arrange for Rs 10,000 crore – partly in cash and the remaining in the form of bank guarantees – to secure bail for Roy and two other directors in jail.
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