Canara Bank invites bids to sell ₹577-cr Supreme Housing loan

Mumbai: Canara Bank has invited offers from financial institutions and asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) to sell its ₹577 crore debt of real estate company Supreme Housing and Hospitality at a reserve price of ₹500 crore through a Swiss challenge auction.

The Bangalore-based lender has also, simultaneously, filed a petition in the Mumbai NCLT to re-start insolvency proceedings against the company after a one-time settlement (OTS) offer by the company in July failed to materialise, said a person aware of the details.

“Through this auction of the debt the bank hopes to gauge investor interest in this company even as it awaits direction from the Mumbai NCLT. The company had made a OTS offer of ₹450 crore back in July following which the initial insolvency plea against it was withdrawn but the company failed to honour its commitment as a result of it a fresh bankruptcy plea has been filed,” the person cited above said.

Canara is the lead lender to Supreme Housing with outstanding dues of ₹577 crore. In a web notice to the Swiss auction the bank has called for initial bids by February 21 followed by declaration of an anchor bidder by February 25. An electronic auction to challenge the initial bid will be conducted on March 13, the bank said.

July last year was the second time the company was withdrawn from insolvency after a similar settlement in November 2022. Mumbai based Supreme Hospitality is primarily a residential real estate company with projects in Pune and Mumbai.