Subhash Chandra claims 91% debt with 43 lenders settled

Subhash Chandra, chairman emeritus of Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) and founder of the erstwhile Essel Group (now the Subhash Chandra Group), on Tuesday said that he has settled over 91% of the debt with 43 lenders, and the remaining dues are in the process of being paid.
In an open letter Chandra today shared the details of the debt resolution process and the steps taken to pay off the lenders.

The letter came two-and-a-half years after Chandra’s first “dramatic and unusual” letter dated January 25, 2019, where he acknowledged committing strategic mistakes, which caused the default and ballooning of promoters’ debt.

The first letter was following a crash in share price of various Essel Group companies, which eroded nearly Rs 13,686 crore of investor’s wealth in a single day.

“I am happy to report that we have come out of the financial stress situation by settling 91.2% of our total debt to 43 lenders in 110 accounts. 88.3% of the amount has been paid, while the remaining 2.9% is in the process of being paid. We are making all the required efforts to settle the remaining 8.8% of our total debt. I have no regrets for parting with a substantial ownership in the business and specially in the ‘jewels of the crown’. This was done to keep the family’s honour,” Chandra wrote.

He added that it is his “earnest desire” to settle the remaining outstanding accounts - to the best of group’s ability and current circumstances - before the end of this fiscal year.

Without naming any of the lenders, Chandra said that he is in dispute with one lender where both the sides seem fixated on their belief on the amount claimed and amount payable with the difference being too large. “The issue is pending in the court for determination,” he wrote.

Chandra also said that the asset divestment took a setback during the pandemic, which slowed down the overall debt resolution process.

Chandra has reiterated that the group has exited or sold business including infrastructure, financial services and print media.

The promoter holding in ZEE has also come down to 4%, after the promoters sold over 30% stake to repay debts.

Meanwhile, Chandra added that group companies - Zee Learn, SITI Networks and Zee Media Corporation, are going through a difficult phase of their existence, mainly because of lack of capital.

Chandra added that his brother Jawahar Goel’s company - Dish TV - is also suffering and losing its base because of him.

“I would also like to publicly apologise to Jawahar and his family. Along with Jawahar, I would also like to convey my appreciation towards my other two brothers Laxmi and Ashok, who are standing by me in these difficult times,” Chandra stated.

Ending on a positive note, Chandra has said that he is planning to start a new innings in a digital video venture.

“I have earned a fair experience in the video business; hence I am exploring new ways / business opportunities in the video in digital space as well as artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML)) in the video space,” he said, while maintaining that it will be without getting into any conflicts with ZEE.