The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chennai, has approved a ₹526-crore plan submitted by Rajasthan-based ASG Hospital to take over Vasan Health Care Pvt. Ltd. under the insolvency and bankruptcy resolution process.
According to a petition filed by S. Rajendran, resolution professional for Vasan Health Care, 97.9% of the committee of creditors of the company had voted in favour of ASG’s plan. As per the plan, ₹520 crore is towards the resolution and the remaining ₹6 crore is for additional contingency fund.
About ₹400 crore would go towards paying all stakeholders of Vasan Health Care Pvt. Ltd., including creditors. And ₹126 crore would be for working capital and capex infusion into the company.
ASG said it will fund the acquisition through a mix of its internal accruals, existing banking facilities and support from its investor Foundation Holding. ASG will infuse funds into a special purpose vehicle (SPV) ASG Eye Hospital Ventures Pvt. Ltd. for settling dues of the financial creditors and operational creditors. The SPV will infuse funds into Vasan Eye Care for working capital and capex requirements.
Vasan Eye Care has been providing affordable eye care operating 97 centres, spread across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka and having about 1,800 employees and 200 doctors.
With the acquisition of Vasan Eye Care, ASG Hospitals gains a footprint in more than 20 States.
In 2017, the NCLT ordered the commencement of insolvency proceedings against Vasan Health Care on a petition filed by Alcon Laboratories (India) Pvt. Ltd., one of its suppliers. This was the first case to be admitted by NCLT, Chennai, under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
S. Rajendran said his team faced many challenges during the process and it was a great moment to revive the company under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code with the support of all stakeholders.