No takers for Hill County of Maytas Properties? Shriram Group Withdraws.
Hyderabad News. TOI 12.01.10
(Excl Ventures News) At least three potential investors have backed out from investing in Maytas Properties (MP) the last of three companies in the Raju fold in the past six months. While Satyam is already in the Mahindra fold, Maytas Infra is now with IL&FS . According to sources, the three firms that retreated from the deal did so after going through the affairs of MP.
The latest to withdraw from MP was Chennai-based Shriram Group which was earlier looking at either investing or a partnership to finish the Maytas Hill County project over a period of five years, sources said.
Earlier, a consortium of banks and a Malaysian investor were in talks with Maytas Properties and had even done their due diligence exercise but no deal materialised .
They realised the liabilities of the company by the time they came to the actual deal. Three talks have failed since August last year, said a source.
While corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid said last week that two companies have offered to take over Maytas Properties , observers werent convinced . Ved Jain, the governmentappointed director of MP, however , refused to divulge names of the two companies that are in talks with the government. Transactions are not in the open, he said.
Maytas Properties managed by Rajus younger son Rama Raju Jr is in dire need of funds as the Maytas Hill County project is in doldrums.
The delay in this upmarket realty project in Hyderabad where villas have been booked by NRIs has been embarrassing for the government too. Angry investors even raised this issue at the recent Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in New Delhi.
Shriram Properties MD M Murali , however, claimed that the company hadnt done any due diligence yet and the two firms (Maytas and Shriram) were only in talks regarding developing land owned by Maytas Properties on Old Mahabalipuram Road in Chennai. Asked whether his firm was investing in MP, Murali said, We have not reached that stage yet. Unless they (Maytas) are interested , we wouldnt move forward.
Comment :
It was only couple of days earlier that the Union Minister assured NRIs at the Pravasi Divas meeting that Hill County project will restart with confirmed investment from possibly Shriram Group. As usual, Govt must have tried to get out of the probing questions by NRIs, at the meet, the easy way.
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