Srei to liquidate Rs 430 crore Kingfisher Airlines debt

NEW DELHI: Financial services major Srei Group plans to liquidate its Rs 430-crore loan exposure to Kingfisher Airlines soon after closure of a proposed majority takeover of another UB Group firm United Spirits by Diageo.

Srei Venture Capital, part of the Srei Infrastructure Finance, last year acquired loans worth Rs 430 crore given by ICICI Bank to the UB group's battered airline venture.

"The security value (of the loan) has substantially risen and we are well covered. It was not a stupid decision which everyone thought it was," Srei CMD Hemant Kanoria said. The UB group has reached an agreement with Diageo for sale of a majority 53.4 per cent stake in USL for about $2 billion.