MUMBAI: Loop Mobile, one of the first mobile service providers in Mumbai and one India’s oldest telecom firms, is facing the wrath of its lender. In a bid to recover its dues, IDBI Bank has once again put the beleaguered company’s headquarters in Mumbai up for auction, people aware of the development said. The seven-storey property, BPL Center, located on Manmala Tank Road in Mumbai’s Mahim area, is being auctioned with a reserve price of ₹134 crore,
The seven-storey property, BPL Center, located on Manmala Tank Road in Mumbai’s Mahim area, is being auctioned with a reserve price of ₹134 crore, down about a fifth from the earlier reserve price set by the bank, the persons cited earlier told ET, requesting not to be named. The building also has a mini theatre.
The auction for the nearly 70,000 sq ft of built-up property will be held on February 8, they said, adding that prospective bidders are expected to bid along with earnest money deposit of ₹13.40 crore.
An email query to IDBI Bank remained unanswered till as of press time on Friday.
The promoters of Loop Mobile declined to comment.
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The property is being auctioned under the provision of Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (SARFAESI Act).
“The property is centrally located and well connected. The success of the auction process now hinges on the liquidity scenario in the market,” said a property consultant. The company, established in the early 1990s, belongs to the Khaitan family. In 2014, Bharti Airtel had scrapped its then proposed ₹700-crore deal to buy the subscribers and assets of Loop Mobile over delay in government approval.
