Unity Small Finance Bank (Unity SFB) has emerged as the winning bidder for bankrupt Aviom India Housing Finance, offering an upfront payment of about Rs 9.78 billion, according to people familiar with the development.

Six entities had initially expressed interest in acquiring Aviom India Housing Finance under the National Company Law Tribunal-monitored resolution process. However, only three bidders participated in the challenge auction that concluded last week. These included Areion, a fund promoted by Omkara Asset Reconstruction Company, and Authum Investment and Infrastructure. The auction was conducted by RBI-appointed administrator Ram Kumar, a former general manager of Punjab National Bank.

According to an advisor to one of the bidders, the auction saw 13 rounds of bidding, with Areion and Authum exiting after submitting final offers of around Rs 9.36 billion and Rs 8.50 billion, respectively. The administrator, Unity SFB, Areion and Authum did not respond to queries on the outcome.

Northern Arc, DMI Housing and KIFS Housing Finance were the other three entities that had submitted resolution plans to creditors but did not take part in the auction process.

The administrator had set a floor price of about Rs 8.0 billion, with a minimum incremental bid requirement of Rs 0.25 billion. Unity SFB is owned 51 per cent by Centrum Financial Services, while the remaining 49 per cent is held by BharatPe parent Resilient Innovations. The bank was formed through the amalgamation of Centrum Financial Services with the erstwhile PMC Bank after its collapse.

Unity SFB’s upfront offer of Rs 9.78 billion is expected to result in a recovery of about 71 per cent for lenders. Around Rs 0.03 billion from the offer has been earmarked for operational creditors and employees.

The administrator has admitted 60 claims totalling approximately Rs 13.63 billion. LIC Housing Finance has the largest exposure at about 7.2 per cent, while lenders with less than 3 per cent exposure include HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Investments and Tata Capital.

Before the auction, the administrator had received six resolution plans. Unity SFB had earlier proposed an upfront payment of Rs 7.75 billion. Authum had offered Rs 7.5 billion, including Rs 4.5 billion upfront with the remainder payable over two years, while Northern Arc had proposed Rs 6.25 billion, with Rs 3.25 billion upfront and the balance over two years.

Aviom founder Kajal Ilmi had also submitted a settlement proposal of Rs 13.63 billion to be paid over 26 months, but lenders were not in favour of the offer. The RBI had admitted Aviom India Housing Finance to the corporate resolution process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in February after the affordable housing finance company defaulted on its loan obligations.