How can Subrata Roy stay out of jail?

That’s the million dollar question, or should we say the billion dollar question. But the group now definitely has some hope, with the Supreme Court allowing sale of three properties Sahara owns in London and New York, worth about Rs 10,000 crore. And that’s the amount the court has ordered Sahara to deposit with Sebi, before it agrees to release Subrata Roy. Sahara has so far deposited Rs 3,117 crore. So, what are Sahara’s options starting now?

WHAT IS THE GROUP DOING NOW?

Roy’s men have been all over, trying to sell nine parcels of land across the country. But there just aren’t any buyers. The 9 land parcels on the block: in Ahmedabad, Pune, Amritsar, Gurgaon, Vasai, Bhavnagar, Jodhpur, Ajmer and Bhopal.



HOWEVER…MARKET NOT HOT FOR SAHARA

Some of these assets, are prime properties but no one seems to be queuing up to buy them.

“It’s a bad market. Most potential buyers want to stay away from a messy transaction,” said a property consultant, who tried selling some Sahara properties There are also some issues relating to clarity on title, clarity on land use, while some land parcels are not contiguous.

“Some of these are prime properties. In a good market, these would have been lapped up quickly. But today no one wants to associate with Sahara,” said a Delhi-based property broker.

Another consultant said Sahara group has been talking to several leading companies across the country to sell its lands and have even given the indication that they are willing to be flexible on price and payment timelines.


BUT SAHARA HAS TO REPAY SOME DEBT FIRST

Sahara had reportedly taken a total debt of $912 million from Bank of China for the three properties and its current outstanding is around $831 million (Rs4,986 crore).

CHANCES OF THESE PROPERTIES YIELDING CASH?

Two of these—Grosvenor House and The Plaza—are iconic hotels in London and New York and if a bidding war breaks out among potential buyers, Sahara could end up raising some more money. After settling its debt with Bank of China, Sahara would be left with around Rs5,000-6,000 crore that could be used to secure bail for Subrata Roy.

REPAYMENT OF FULL AMOUNT ONCE ROY IS FREED ON BAIL?

Once Roy is freed, the group will have limited time to pay the rest of the Rs27,000 crore to Sebi. While the Sahara group is known to have hundreds of properties across India and even abroad, the group will have to concentrate on some of its key properties in India to pay up. Last year in December, Sahara had given a list of 68 properties across the country along with its Aamby Valley in Maharashtra that are valued at over Rs20,000 crore. From the properties and assets that are well known, Sahara could sell a part of the land of its Aamby Valley project, about 100 acres of land close to Mumbai in Versova, the Sahara Star Hotel near the Mumbai airport and its stake in the F1 racing team.