Sale fetches double the reserve price

MUMBAI: Companies with assets, particularly land, appear to have relatively high liquidation value. Samtel Colour, once a stock market favourite, has fetched Rs 42.5 crore, more than double the reserve price, with 124 bidders participating in the liquidation.

But the lenders will still be taking a significant haircut on their total exposure.

The company’s assets included land and building at Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh, and plant and machinery at three locations - two at Ghaziabad and one at Kota, Rajasthan. It had land banks collectively of about 90 acres.


The reserve price was pegged at Rs 17.75 crore, the lowest acceptable level. The reserve price was fixed after consultation with creditors and based on the valuation reports of the registered valuers.

“Although we lost money in the bad loan account, the liquidation value is significantly high. In the past 15 years at least, I have not seen such a value realisation via liquidation process,” said an executive with direct knowledge of the matter.

Punjab National Bank, Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC), Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, and HDFC Bank were part of the consortium.

In 2017, creditors had submitted claims for about Rs 1,300 crore after the company was admitted for insolvency proceedings in the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Delhi Chapter in September 2017. The court appointed Sanjay Gupta as the resolution professional (RP), who was responsible to run the company’s day-to-day operations during the legal proceedings. He was later appointed as the liquidator. Gupta is a partner for AAA Insolvency Professionals.

Samtel Colour, a listed company which was engaged in the manufacturing of colour picture tubes for colour televisions, was shut since 2012. Technology obsolescence hit the company.