New Delhi, Aug. 4 -- India's oldest asset reconstruction company (ARC) wants to go public. Asset Reconstruction Co. (India) Ltd (ARCIL) filed its draft prospectus on 1 August, with four of its shareholders-Avenue India Resurgence Pte. Ltd, State Bank of India, Lathe Investment Pte Ltd, and The Federal Bank Ltd-looking to sell up to 105.46 million shares.

If approved, it will become India's first listed ARC.

Mint takes a look at the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to assess the state of India's ARCs-once touted as lenders' key weapon for recovering bad loans.

ARCs are specialized institutions that help lenders recover their stressed assets. Lenders sell stressed loans to ARCs at a discount for either cash or a mix of cash and securi...