Italy’s Benetton family-controlled infrastructure group Atlantia is in advanced talks with cash-strapped Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) to buy some of its road projects for about $1.2 billion (Rs 8,719 crore), The Economic Times reported, citing two people aware of the development.
IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd, a listed unit of IL&FS, has 28 road projects under the build-operate-transfer model, of which 21 are operational and the remaining under construction.
IL&FS group has a debt of around Rs 91,000 crore, according to the report.
Last month, The Economic Times reported that Atlantia was also in talks to pick up 35-40% stake in Sadbhav Infrastructure Project Ltd.
Separately, the residual business of debt-ridden Reliance Communications (R-Com) has received interest from two undisclosed suitors, one of them a consortium of four funds, the Press Trust of India reported, citing Bill Barney, chief executive of R-Com.
Barney said the suitors will look for either a 100% buy or at least a controlling stake.
In December 2017, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd had agreed to acquire R-Com’s telecom towers, spectrum, optic fibre network and media convergence nodes.
R-Com’s residual business comprises of Indian and global business-to-business enterprise operations, internet data centres and submarine cable networks.