Vishal Retail today said it has signed an agreement with lenders for restructuring the terms of the chain's Rs 730 crore debt and the process would kickstart within the next few days.
The agreement with our lenders has been signed and the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) process will begin within the first half of November," Vishal Retail Group President Ambeek Khemka said.
"I am optimistic that we will finish the process 100 days of its start," he added.
Khemka, however, denied that lenders had imposed any pre-condition for the exit of the company's promoter Ramchandra Agarwal as part of debt restructuring.
"There is no such condition. The CDR is an open-ended business and any decision will be made only after the process is completed," he said.
Vishal Retail has been reeling under a financial crisis triggered by rapid expansion, which was compounded by the economic slowdown, leading to huge debts of Rs 730 crore.
Its major lenders include SBI, HDFC and HSBC. The retail chain, which has around 170 supermarkets across the country, had stopped expansion earlier this year.
In July, it closed down around 10 outlets and sought renegotiation of loans from its dozen-odd lenders.
During the first quarter ended June 30, 2009, Vishal had reported a sharp decline in total income to Rs 265.37 crore from Rs 376.55 crore during the same period last year. It is yet to announce its second quarter results.