The Sahara Group seems to have finally found buyers for its three overseas hotels, which were put on sale to raise money to secure its chief Subrata Roy's bail.
Two private companies have told the Supreme Court that they are interested in buying the three hotels--Grosvenor House Hotel in London, New York Plaza and Dream New York.
The applications filed by the two firms--Kane Capital Partners Limited and an overseas real estate agent--will come for hearing on 17 August before a bench headed by Justice TS Thakur, said a PTI report.
UK-based property developer Kane Capital Partners has expressed interest in buying Grosvenor House Hotel for Rs 6,370 crore.
However, the other company that has showed interest in Sahara hotels has asked for "clarification on the parameters that Sahara would follow in disposing of its two New York hotels". It sought clarifications as Sahara had rejected some offers made by a few companies in the past.
The British property developer has also asked the court to give directions to Sahara to complete the deal without any "interference, encumbrances and hindrances" at the earliest time possible in "a transparent step-by-step manner".
Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy has been behind bars since March 2014, following its failure to comply with a court order to return the money to investors it had raised through an illegal bond programme.
The apex court had ordered Roy to deposit Rs 10,000 crore to secure an interim bail. It asked him to pay half the amount in cash and the remaining as bank guarantee. The SC had also ordered the group to refund nearly Rs 36,000 crore to bond investor in nine instalments in the next 18 months.
Last month, the Lucknow-based financial services group had told the court that it would not be able to pay Rs 36,000 to bond investors in 18 months.
"No business house in the world can pay Rs 36,000 crore within 18 months," Sahara Group had told the Supreme Court.
