RCom to pitch realty assets to pay Ericsson

Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered Ambani’s Reliance Communications Ltd and two of its directors to pay Ericsson Rs 4.5 billion ($63.30 million) within four weeks or face a three-month jail term for contempt of court. RCom owes a total Rs 5.71 billion to the Swedish telecoms equipment maker, including a one-time settlement of Rs 5.5 billion and interest payments of Rs 210 million.

The company said in a statement on Thursday it has already deposited Rs 1.18 billion with the Supreme Court and has sought approval from its lenders to release tax refunds of a further Rs 2.6 billion to Ericsson. Since the company is in bankruptcy court for debt resolution, it needs lenders’ approval for any such transaction. “RCom is confident of raising the balance within the time of four weeks allowed by the Honourable Supreme Court,” the company said.

A source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said RCom is looking to sell its real estate assets in Chennai and Kolkata to raise the remaining funds. It is also likely to urge Reliance Jio, controlled by Anil’s elder brother and Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, to speed up payments owed for fibre assets acquired from RCom, the source added.