Coffee Day Enterprises has announced that it will be selling its tech park Global Village Tech Park, developed by its subsidiary Tanglin Developments to Blackstone for around Rs 2,600-3,000 crore. The company said in a regulatory filing that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent with Blackstone and that the closure of the transaction is subject to completion of Blackstone's due diligence, documentation and receipt of requisite regulatory approvals. This, it says, is expected in the next 30- 45 days.
“Board takes the opportunity to thank Blackstone for their professional and transparent approach and quick turnaround time displayed under adverse market conditions,” it said in a statement.
Global Village Tech Park is a software tech park in located in Rajarajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru.
The company also announced that it has given an in-principal nod for disinvestment in its stepdown subsidiary, AlphaGrep Securities in favour of Illuminati Software for an approximate amount of Rs 28 crore.
AlphaGrep is a trading firm that is focused on algorithmic trading in asset classes across the globe. It has offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, London, Singapore and Hong Kong.
“The above-mentioned transactions will significantly help in deleveraging the Coffee Day Group, and ensure smooth operations while safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders, including investors, lenders, employees and customers,” the board said in a statement.
Coffee Day Enterprises has five main subsidiaries: Coffee Day Global Ltd (coffee business), Tanglin Developments Ltd, Sical Logistics Ltd, Way2Wealth, and Coffee Day Hotels and Resorts.
Last week, the board also appointed consultants Ernst and Young ("EY") to investigate into the circumstances leading to statements made in the letter purportedly written by late VG Siddhartha, founder, chairman and MD, dated July 27, 2019. EY will also scrutinize the books of accounts of the company and its subsidiaries.
After Siddhartha went missing on July 29, a letter purportedly written by him emerged where he stated that he “failed as an entrepreneur” and that he was under tremendous pressure from lenders.
Police officials investigating into Siddhartha’s financials said at the time that the several holding companies of Coffee Day, in which he was a shareholder, had incurred a debt of Rs 3,500 crore in total.
The Board of Coffee Day Enterprises, which met after Siddhartha’s death, appointed SV Ranganath as the interim chairman of the Board and Nitin Bagmane as interim Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company.
Siddhartha went missing in Mangaluru on the night of July 29 near the Nethravathi river. His body was found on the bank of a river over 9 km away from the Nethravathi bridge on July 31. His last rites were performed in Chikkamagaluru.