Nokia withdraws plea to sell Chennai unit as buyer backs out

New Delhi, May 26

Nokia India today withdrew from the Delhi High Court its plea seeking permission to urgently sell its mobile manufacturing unit in Chennai, which was frozen over a Rs-10,000-crore claim raised by the Income Tax Department, saying the proposed buyer has backed out.

At the same time, Nokia and the I-T department told the court that a report has been received from Ernst and Young India Pvt Ltd (EY) on valuation of the company's assets.

As per the report, Rs 361 crore was the valuation of assets if they were to be sold as 'ongoing concern' (company not bankrupt) and Rs 417 crore if 'non-going concern' (company has gone bankrupt), they said.

Nokia submitted before a Bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva that it was withdrawing the plea seeking permission to urgently sell the unit as the proposed buyer has withdrawn.

It told the court that the buyer had offered it Rs 400 crore for the assets.

In response to Nokia's submission, the court noted the proposed buyer had also offered a price that was in the same range as the valuation by EY.

EY was appointed by the court as the valuer for Nokia India's Chennai mobile plant and its other assets.

On April 24, the Income Tax department had told the court that the amount offered by an "arm's length buyer" for Nokia India's Chennai plant was "very little".

An 'arm's length' transaction is one in which the buyer and seller of a product act independently and have no relationship with each other to ensure that they act according to their self-interest and are not influenced by other party. PTI