IL&FS seeks to disqualify Brookfield Co from buying its finance centre

Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. (IL&FS) has moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking to disqualify Brookfield-backed Chronos Properties Pvt. Ltd. from acquiring its prime Bandra Kurla Complex asset, citing non-compliance with bid conditions and lapsed bid security.

In a fresh petition filed before the Mumbai bench of the NCLT, IL&FS alleged that Chronos Properties violated key terms of the sale by failing to renew a Rs 108 crore performance guarantee that expired in April, an obligation it says was clearly laid out in the letter of intent (LOI) and the original bidding documents issued in 2022.

“CPPL has decided not to renew the performance guarantee after April 2025, thereby rendering the LOI, including the bid, invalid,” IL&FS said in the filing.


The company asked the tribunal to scrap the LOI and declare Chronos Properties’ application infructuous.

However, according to a person familiar with the matter, NCLT Mumbai had, in its order dated August 19, 2024, directed IL&FS not to act upon the valuation and not to create any third-party rights.

Spokespersons of both Brookfield and IL&FS declined to comment.

Chronos Properties had submitted a Rs 1,080 crore offer for The IL&FS Financial Centre (TIFC) in December 2021. However, the transaction was delayed for more than two years amid litigation and regulatory approvals, including a challenge by HDFC, which was ultimately dismissed by the Supreme Court and final clearance from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority in June 2024.

Given that market conditions have improved, with fresh independent valuations pegging TIFC’s worth at around Rs 1,700 crore, a 57% jump over Brookfield’s bid, IL&FS is looking at higher monetisation value, as per the petition. However, according to the person cited earlier, an NCLT order had asked IL&FS “not to act upon the valuation”.