Amtek Auto’s Arvind Dham may offload personal assets to reduce debt

Mumbai: With troubled auto parts maker Amtek Auto Ltd’s planned divestment of domestic and overseas businesses yet to materialize, company chairman and founder Arvind Dham has begun exploring options to monetise assets owned by him.

According to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified, Dham is in talks with potential buyers to sell Indraprasta Engine Parts Pvt. Ltd ( IEPPL), an auto component manufacturing company which he owns in his personal capacity. Documents filed with the registrar of companies show that Arvind Dham along with other senior executives of Amtek Auto, hold shares in Indraprasta Engine Parts Pvt. Ltd.

Dham did not respond to emails, text messages and phone calls seeking comment.

According to the latest available filings, Indraprasta Engine Parts reported a revenue of Rs95.25 crore and a loss of Rs1.15 crore in the financial year ended 31 March 2015. The company was incorporated in 2010 and currently has a manufacturing plant in Hosur, Tamil Nadu.

“Dham has been in discussions to sell the unit following which talks with Kalyani Forge Ltd (KFL) and Sterling Tools Ltd ( STL) have reached an advanced stage,” said one of the two people. “Dham is keen to show to the lenders that he is willing put his own money even though the plans to sell Amtek Auto’s assets to repay its debt have not been successful.”

Amtek Auto’s standalone loss widened to Rs241.56 crore for the quarter ended December 2016 from Rs175.36 crore in the same quarter last fiscal. Dham plans to plough the proceeds of the sale into the company, the first person added.

Spokespersons for Kalyani Forge and Sterling Tools did not respond to emails seeking comment.

Ever since Amtek Auto defaulted on bond repayments of close to Rs800 crore in September 2015, it has been trying to sell various group businesses to reduce the debt on its books. The company has appointed Morgan Stanley as an adviser to assist in its debt reduction plan. Amtek Auto owed Rs8,066 crore to various lenders as on 30 September 2016. Mint learns that its consolidated debt at the group level is higher.

In July last year, Bloomberg reported that Amtek Auto has hired global investment bank Rothschild and Co. to advise on the potential sale of all overseas operations including those in the UK, the US, Mexico, China and Germany. The report said Amtek was seeking bidders for its German unit Amtek Tekfor Holding GmbH and expected to raise over $1 billion from the process.

A manufacturer of forging parts, Amtek Auto counts most of India’s top auto component makers as clients. Its overseas clients include global auto brands such as Aston Martin and Daimler.

In February, the company said in a regulatory filing that it is planning to raise Rs117.5 crore by selling shares to promoters on a preferential basis for which it will seek shareholders’ approval. The company has called an extraordinary general meeting on 25 March to seek approval from its shareholders for the proposal, it added.

In February, lenders of Amtek Auto are understood to have asked it to either repay loans or convert the outstanding into equity shares or warrants.