Sebi lines up more Sahara land parcels for auction

Moving ahead with sale of Sahara assets to recover money, markets regulator Sebi today lined up another 16 land parcels of the beleaguered group for an e- auction next month at a reserve price of about Rs 1,900 crore.

Ten other land parcels have already been lined up for an auction next month at a reserve price of Rs 1,200 crore and the newly scheduled auctions would take the total minimum value of the properties so far put on block at Rs 3,100 crore.

More properties worth an equivalent amount are expected to be put up for auction in coming days.

In separate notices today, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said SBI Caps will auction eight properties on July 13 at a reserve price of Rs 1,196 crore, while HDFC Realty would conduct an e-auction for another eight properties on July 15 at a reserve price of Rs 702 crore.

HDFC Realty and SBI Caps have already lined up two separate auctions on July 4 and July 7, respectively, for five properties each at a combined reserve price of Rs 1,200 crore.

Following directions from the Supreme Court for sale of certain Sahara assets to recover money, Sebi has mandated SBI Capital Markets (SBI Caps) and HDFC Realty for auctioning a total of 61 land parcels.

HDFC Realty has been roped in to auction 31 land parcels at a reserve price of Rs 2,400 crore, while SBI Caps has been asked to auction another 30 land properties with an estimated market value of about Rs 4,100 crore.

These properties are spread across the country and mostly include land parcels. As per the court directions, they cannot be sold at less than 90 per cent of the circle rates.

After spending two years in jail, Sahara chief Subrata Roy is currently out on parole. He was sent to jail on the orders of the Supreme Court in a long running dispute with Sebi.