Sahara group looking to sell 42.5 per cent stake in F1 team for funds: Report

New Delhi: The Sahara Group is looking to sell its stake in the Force India Formula 1 team as part of an ongoing legal case against owner Subrata Roy, who was accused of fraud and jailed back in March 2014.

In October 2011, Sahara purchased 42.5% of Force India's shares for $100 million. The beleaguered group is now looking to sell its stake in the F1 team, which is one of those assets amongst various hotels and aircraft, including Grosvenor House in London.

According to a report in The Times of India, Sahara's counsel, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, told a bench of Chief Justice T S Thakur and Justices A R Dave and A K Sikri that the group has decided to sell its stake in the Formula One team along with Sahara Star Hotel in Mumbai and four small aircraft. The company claimed that selling these would fetch around Rs 3,000 crore.

Sahara chief Roy was arrested in March 2014 after the group failed to comply with a court order to refund money raised from millions of small investors by selling them bonds later ruled to be illegal.

Sahara, a household name in India as the former main sponsor of the national cricket team, has some prized assets including New York’s Plaza Hotel, the Grosvenor House in London, Sahara Star hotel in Mumbai and a stake in a Formula One racing team.

The group has been trying to raise funds since Roy’s arrest, but has failed in several past bids to comply with the top court’s order to return Rs 360 billion to investors in the banned bond plan.

(With Agency inputs)