Russia's USC linked with bid to acquire Indian shipbuilder Reliance Naval

Russian state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) has been linked with a move to acquire troubled Indian company Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (RNEL).

The Russian group, which has a long-standing aim to expand its profile in the Indian naval shipbuilding market, was reportedly one of several investors to express interest in acquiring RNEL during a round of bidding for the company that ended late June.

Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) has reportedly submitted a bid to acquire India’s Reliance Naval and Engineering, the constructor of the Indian Navy’s Project 21 offshore patrol vessels (pictured). (Indian Navy)

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on 30 June RNEL confirmed that its lenders have now approved an additional round of bidding that will conclude in late July. The extension is required, said the lenders, to attract additional investors in light of Covid-19 restrictions.

Bids will be facilitated through an extension of an ‘expression of interest’ (EOI) document that was originally issued through the BSE in late May. Since then, five entities have made bids to acquire RNEL, said local reports, including USC. Neither RNEL nor USC have confirmed the Russian group’s bid.

The sale of RNEL is intended to pay off the company’s heavy debts, which in 2019 had reached about INR126 billion (USD1.6 billion. In January 2020 RNEL said it was insolvency proceedings, launched against the company by the Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) over a debt claim worth INR11.6 billion.