US firm Mirach rejects Sahara’s allegations

US-based Mirach Capital on Friday said that Sahara Group’s allegations of forgery were unfounded and it was still willing to buy out the Indian company’s assets in New York and London.

In response to a query from BusinessLine , Mirach blamed Sahara for trying to scuttle a deal agreed to earlier.

“The dangerous allegations made by Sahara are indicative of a direct intent to destabilise a deal structure that, given its high rate of return, would benefit Mirach and its investors,” it said in a statement.

Under the deal estimated to be around $2 billion, Mirach Capital, headed by Indian origin Saransh Sharma, had offered to extend a loan to the Sahara Group against hotels in New York and London.

Sahara wanted to use a part of these funds to release its Chairman, Subrata Roy, who has been jailed in a case relating to non-repayment of investor money.

On Thursday, Sahara said in a statement that it had found out that the Bank of America letter, submitted by Mirach to the Supreme Court as a proof that it had set aside sufficient funds for the transaction, was forged. In response, Mirach Capital said it had reached a deal with Sahara to provide a structured loan package, including taking over the debt on the foreign assets from Bank of China, and sale of the Indian assets.

“Consistently, Mirach has been interested in an outright sale of the assets. However, Sahara would only agree to exclusivity under the loan structure. Upon recognising their inability to make the first interest payment on the loan, and thus in danger of losing their assets at a discounted rate through default, members of the Sahara Group violated the exclusivity agreement and began shopping the assets for a sale,” Mirach said.

It said that any claims of Sahara being defrauded by Mirach are untrue and being presented in an effort to unravel the deal and shelter Subrata Roy.

The US company said it was willing to publicly disclose the identity of investors who have earmarked funds for this transaction.

“In light of the breach of contract, Mirach is no longer considering an offer for the loan structure, however (Mirach) remains ready, willing and able to facilitate an acquisition of these assets,” the company said.