IL&FS concludes 73.6% stake sale in education business; cuts consolidated debt by over Rs 650 crore

Cash-strapped IL&FS Group on Wednesday said it has completed sale of its 73.69 per cent stake in the education business, held under Schoolnet India Ltd (SIL), to Falafal Technologies.

Falafal Technologies Pvt Ltd (FTPL) has paid Rs 7.37 crore as equity value for shares of SIL held by IL&FS Ltd and IL&FS Employee Welfare Trust, in addition to taking over SIL's fund-based and non-fund based financial debt of nearly Rs 650 crore, a release said.

FTPL has also agreed to a deferred consideration of Rs 6.29 crore payable within 18 months from closure.

“The transaction provides positive equity value to IL&FS and resolves nearly Rs 650 crore of consolidated fund based and non-fund based financial debt, without any haircut to lenders,” IL&FS Group said in the release.

SIL provides ed-tech services to K-12 schools and students through proprietary digital content, devices, platforms and solutions.

The sale was completed pursuant to the approval granted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Principal Bench, vide an order dated August 31, 2020, the Group said.

The stake sale in SIL will reduce operating cost for IL&FS Group by nearly 19 per cent, it said.

IL&FS Group holds 73.69 per cent stake in SIL. SIL holds 80 per cent stake in IL&FS Skill Development Corporation (ISDC) and also has two wholly-owned subsidiaries - IL&FS Cluster Development Initiative (ICDI) and Skill Training Assessment Management Partners (STAMP). The Group said as part of the sale transaction, the businesses of ICDI and STAMP have also been transferred to SIL through a slump sale for a consideration of Re 1 for each company.

Transfer of debt of nearly Rs 27 crore in ICDI and STAMP forms part of the slump sale, it said.

The shares of ICDI and STAMP have been transferred to IL&FS Ltd. SIL will continue to retain 80.01 per cent stake in ISDC which will become a step-down subsidiary of FTPL, the release said.