Dentons Link Legal has advised on the restructuring of more than INR20 billion (USD238.16 million) in outstanding debt for Pune Sholapur Road Development Company.
Partners Milind Jha and Aditya Bhardwaj led the Dentons team along with associate partner Shailender Sharma, with the assistance of senior associate Komal Kumar.
As transaction counsel for a consortium of 12 secured and unsecured lenders, Dentons’ role included structuring the transaction and resolution plan, regulatory guidance, assisting with the transfer of Pune Sholapur to the Roadstar Infra Investment Trust, conducting due diligence, and drafting and finalising deal documents.
The restructuring is being completed under the Reserve Bank of India’s framework for the resolution of stressed assets and the Indian government’s proposed Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) group resolution scheme.
This transaction is the first of its kind as part of the IL&FS group’s resolution strategy, involving more than INR990 billion in debt. In May 2023, IL&FS finalised the transfer of its fifth road asset, Pune Sholapur Road Development Company to Roadstar Infra InvIT, which is registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India. IL&FS is a state-funded infrastructure and finance development company.
The debt resolution strategy includes monetising around 14 IL&FS road assets by transferring them to Roadstar Infra InvIT. Through this transfer, Pune Sholapur’s secured lenders will fully recover their dues, while IL&FS lenders will receive InvIT units as settlement of their outstanding debt.
