ICICI pulls out as top lender for Deccan chronicle

ICICI Bank, the leading lender for troubled Deccan Chronicle Holdings, has pulled out of the corporate debt restructuring cell for the debt-laden firm, closing a soft option for the southern media company that would have allowed an easier rescheduling of its loan repayment. HT reports.

ICICI Bank, the leading lender for troubled Deccan Chronicle Holdings (DCH), has pulled out of the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) cell for the debt-laden firm, closing a soft option for the southern media company that would have allowed an easier rescheduling of its loan repayment.

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The publisher of Hyderabad's leading English daily will now be at the mercy of bankers who are expected to turn the heat on the group, which has also faced setbacks in the cancellation of its Indian Premier League cricket franchise for the Deccan Chargers team that it controlled.

The total exposure of banks to DCH is about Rs. 5,000 crore, of which public sector banks account for Rs. 3,800 crore.

"With the lead lender withdrawing from the case, Deccan Chronicle restructuring is out of the purview of CDR cell. Now, it has to be now resolved bilaterally," said a banker after a meeting of the CDR member banks on Friday.

Bankers were divided on the issue of taking DCH to the CDR cell, which is a platform set up by banks to restructure loans. Loan restructuring is the process of diluting the original terms of loans which include lower interest rate or extension of tenure.

Some of the banks were not keen for a debt restructuring as differences persist on whether it will be done at the holding entity level of DCHL or on the subsidiary level.