When creditors seize control of asset sales, faith in management collapses
On the final Monday of 2021, India's corporate landscape shifted quietly but meaningfully, as some of the country's largest enterprises made decisions that would alter their futures. Reliance Industries stepped back from a years-long ambition to separate its oil-to-chemical operations, dissolving a prospective partnership with Saudi Aramco in the process. Elsewhere, a bank's sudden leadership change, a retailer's deepening debt crisis, and an automaker's bold expansion plans together painted a portrait of an economy navigating uncertainty with uneven confidence.
- Reliance Industries abandoned its oil-to-chemical demerger after NCLT approval, erasing a long-anticipated Saudi Aramco stake and forcing markets to recalibrate the conglomerate's strategic direction.
- RBL Bank's CEO was placed on immediate leave as the RBI installed its own representative on the bank's board, triggering investor anxiety about the lender's stability despite swift reassurances from interim leadership.
- Future Retail's creditors, exhausted by stalled asset sales and mounting losses, began exploring whether to seize direct control of the restructuring process — a sign that patience among lenders had nearly run out.
- Mahindra & Mahindra moved against the grain of uncertainty, committing to thirteen new product launches by 2027 and targeting SUV market leadership with the imminent Scorpio release.
- Capital markets remained active beneath the turbulence, with Canara Bank raising ₹2,500 crore in bonds, SBI Card planning a ₹650 crore placement, and a $100 million termination clause keeping the Zee-Sony merger under pressure.
The last Monday of 2021 opened with HP Adhesives preparing its stock market debut at ₹274 per share, but the day's deeper story belonged to decisions made over the weekend by India's corporate heavyweights.
Reliance Industries received National Company Law Tribunal approval to withdraw its plan to spin off its oil-to-chemical business — a separation that had been years in the making and was intended to bring Saudi Aramco in as a major partner. With the withdrawal sanctioned, that global partnership dissolved. Even so, Reliance signaled continued ambition in other directions, with its digital health platform securing an investment from Karkinos Healthcare.
At RBL Bank, the weekend brought a jarring leadership shift. CEO Vishwavir Ahuja was placed on immediate leave, with executive director Rajeev Ahuja stepping in as interim head. The Reserve Bank of India had simultaneously placed one of its own officials on the bank's board — a move that markets typically read as a warning sign. Rajeev Ahuja moved quickly to contain the damage, insisting the bank held the RBI's full confidence and that no financial distress was involved. The reassurance was pointed, if not entirely calming.
Future Retail faced a grimmer reckoning. Lenders, frustrated by asset sales that had failed to materialize under the company's debt restructuring plan, were in early discussions about seizing direct control of those sales themselves. The retailer's creditors were losing patience as value continued to erode.
Not all the news carried distress. Mahindra & Mahindra announced plans to launch thirteen new products by 2027, with the Scorpio slated for early release, as the automaker set its sights on leading India's SUV segment. Adani Transmission secured a letter of intent for a ₹1,200 crore renewable energy infrastructure acquisition, and GMR Airports signed agreements to develop and operate an international airport in Indonesia.
In the financial sector, Canara Bank raised ₹2,500 crore through Basel-III bonds and SBI Card planned a ₹650 crore private placement, reflecting the banking industry's steady effort to shore up capital. A tribunal also temporarily stayed competition penalties on beer makers, including a ₹751.8 crore fine on United Breweries. And hanging over the broader market was the Zee-Sony merger, whose $100 million exit clause made any change of heart a costly proposition for either side.
The Indian stock market opened Monday with a cascade of corporate announcements that would reshape several major companies' trajectories. HP Adhesives was set to debut on the BSE and NSE with a final issue price of ₹274 per share, but the day's real weight lay in the decisions made by some of India's largest corporations over the weekend.
Reliance Industries had just received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal to abandon its plan to split off its oil-to-chemical business into a standalone entity. The demerger, which had been in motion for years, would have created a separate company that Saudi Aramco was positioned to join as a major stakeholder. With the NCLT's sign-off on the withdrawal, that partnership evaporated. The company had been pursuing the separation to unlock value and bring in global expertise, but the calculus had shifted. Meanwhile, Reliance Digital Health, the company's healthcare platform, had attracted an undisclosed investment from Karkinos Healthcare, a sign that the conglomerate was still actively building out its non-oil businesses even as it consolidated its core operations.
At RBL Bank, the weekend brought an abrupt leadership change. Chief executive Vishwavir Ahuja was placed on immediate leave, and the board appointed executive director Rajeev Ahuja as interim replacement. The move came as the Reserve Bank of India had appointed one of its own to the bank's board—a step that typically signals regulatory concern. Yet Rajeev Ahuja moved quickly to reassure the market, stating that the bank retained the complete confidence of the RBI and that the central bank's board appointment reflected no financial distress at the lender. The message was defensive but clear: this was a governance adjustment, not a crisis.
Future Retail, meanwhile, was caught in a different kind of reckoning. The company's lenders were in preliminary discussions about whether to take direct control of selling off non-core assets to salvage their loans. The group's debt restructuring had stalled—asset sales that were supposed to happen as part of the recasting process had not materialized. Banks were now weighing whether to step in and force the issue themselves, though talks remained in their earliest stages. The company was bleeding value, and its creditors were running out of patience.
Elsewhere, Mahindra & Mahindra was moving in the opposite direction, announcing aggressive expansion plans. Riding momentum from recent model launches, the automaker was preparing to release the Scorpio early in the new year and had set its sights on becoming the top player in the SUV segment. The company had committed to rolling out thirteen new products by 2027, a signal of confidence in the market's recovery and in its own ability to capture share.
Adani Transmission had secured a letter of intent to acquire a renewable energy evacuation system under Khavda-Bhuj Transmission Ltd, valued at ₹1,200 crore. The deal positioned the company deeper into India's energy transition infrastructure. GMR Airports, for its part, had signed agreements with Indonesia's state-owned airport operator to develop and operate the Kualanamu International Airport, marking an expansion of the Indian company's footprint in Southeast Asia.
On the financial side, Canara Bank had successfully raised ₹2,500 crore through Basel-III compliant bonds, while SBI Card announced plans to raise ₹650 crore through private placement bonds. These capital raises reflected the banking sector's ongoing need to strengthen balance sheets. At the same time, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal stayed penalties that the Competition Commission of India had imposed on beer makers, including a ₹751.8 crore fine on United Breweries, offering at least temporary relief to the sector. And looming over everything was the Zee Entertainment and Sony Pictures Networks merger, which carried a $100 million termination fee for either party—a price tag that made backing out not just difficult but genuinely expensive.
Citas Notables
RBL Bank and its management have the complete support of the Reserve Bank of India, and the appointment of a central bank executive on its board has nothing to do with the lender's financials.— Rajeev Ahuja, interim CEO of RBL Bank
Non-core asset sales planned as part of the debt recast process have not fructified. Banks are discussing whether they would like to take control of the process and push for it.— Person aware of Future Retail lender discussions (anonymous)
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why did Reliance abandon the O2C demerger? It seemed like a major strategic move.
The company had been pursuing it for years, but circumstances change. The NCLT approval to withdraw suggests the board decided the separation no longer made financial or strategic sense—perhaps the oil market outlook shifted, or the cost of executing the split became prohibitive.
And the Saudi Aramco partnership just disappears with it?
Exactly. That was the crown jewel of the plan—bringing in a global energy giant as a stakeholder in the new entity. Without the demerger, there's no separate vehicle for that partnership, so the whole arrangement collapses.
What about RBL Bank? Is the CEO's leave a sign of trouble?
The timing is suspicious, but the interim CEO was quick to say the RBI's confidence remains intact. The central bank putting one of its own on the board is unusual, but it could be governance tightening rather than crisis management. We'll know more when the permanent replacement is named.
Future Retail's lenders are considering taking control of asset sales. How dire is that?
It suggests the company can't be trusted to execute its own restructuring. When creditors start talking about seizing control of the process, it means they've lost faith in management's ability to generate the cash they're owed. That's a serious escalation.
And Mahindra is launching thirteen new products by 2027?
That's confidence. They're betting the SUV market will keep growing and that they can take the top spot. It's the opposite energy from what we're seeing at Future Retail—one company expanding aggressively while another is being picked apart by its lenders.