Reliance, partner looking to buy bankrupt textile company Sintex

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd., along with a partner, are among those bidding to take over bankrupt Indian textile firm Sintex Industries Ltd., according to a stock-exchange filing, as the billionaire attempts to diversify from an oil empire and into telecommunications, green energy and fashion.

Reliance is partnering with Assets Care & Reconstruction Enterprise Ltd. to bid for the company under a court-appointed bankruptcy resolution process, Sintex said in a filing on Sunday. Other bidders are Easygo Textiles Pvt., GHCL Ltd., and Himatsingka Ventures Pvt., which is working with Shrikant Himatsingka and Dinesh Kumar Himatsingka.

The move by Ambani, whose companies this year purchased intellectual property rights to use the iconic Lee Cooper brand in India and stakes in high-end fashion brands run by stylists to some of Bollywood’s biggest stars, is only the second time Reliance has shown interest in an insolvent company. Sintex provides fabric to global fashion brands including Armani, Hugo Boss, Diesel and Burberry, according to an Economic Times report in October.

Besides acquiring marquee Bollywood brands and assets abroad in recent years, Reliance has also forged partnerships with numerous luxury international names, including Burberry Group Plc, Hugo Boss AG and Tiffany & Co.

–With assistance from Debjit Chakraborty.

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