Race for JAL heats up: Adani Group, GMR, Vedanta among bidders in ₹17,300 crore insolvency case

New Delhi: JSW, Dalmia Bharat, Jindal Power, Vedanta, GMR, Welspun and Torrent are among the many high business groups which have submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) for Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), which is able to go underneath the hammer in a court-monitored insolvency continuing, in accordance with individuals conscious of the matter.

The Adani Group can be anticipated to submit an EoI earlier than the ultimate deadline of March 25 as is one other massive Delhi-based industrial home, they mentioned. Kotak Alternate Property can be within the fray. The property could also be value over $2 billion or ₹17,300 crore as per sources acquainted with preliminary discussions on their valuation.

The EoIs are the primary stage within the bidding course of as lenders look to discover a new proprietor for JAL. Individuals on the EoI stage could not essentially submit bids, mentioned the individuals cited.

A Nationwide Firm Legislation Tribunal (NCLT) bench final week instructed Bhuvan Madan, the corporate’s Deloitte-backed decision skilled, to ask decision plans that might consider all of JAL’s property and never components of the portfolio individually. The sooner plan had been to market the corporate in a piecemeal method to potential consumers and invite curiosity for particular person property that have been partitioned into separate clusters. That plan was struck down by the NCLT.

Dalmia Bharat, Jindal Energy, Welspun, Torrent, Adani, GMR and Kotak Alternate Property didn’t reply to ET’s queries. JSW, Vedanta and JAL’s decision skilled declined to remark.

JAL’s property embrace cement vegetation with an annual capability of 10 million tonnes, the Buddh Worldwide Circuit in Larger Noida that has hosted Components One races, a 2,500 acre land parcel situated on the Noida expressway, an engineering, procurement and building (EPC) enterprise with profitable building contracts, a fertiliser plant and 5 inns. Its 25 lenders that embrace ICICI Financial institution, State Financial institution of India, Punjab Nationwide Financial institution and IDBI Financial institution assigned their loans that included principal, curiosity and penalties collected over a number of years of about ₹48,000 crore to the Nationwide Asset Reconstruction Co Ltd (NARCL) on March 12. The loans have been assigned for round ₹12,700 crore.

There have been two colleges of thought on JAL’s decision course of. The corporate’s collectors have been largely of the view that advertising the property in components would lead to higher worth discovery as bidders immediately involved in particular property would pay extra for them. JAL’s erstwhile promoter Manoj Gaur disagreed and mentioned this is able to result in poor worth discovery as property that weren’t so wanted would invite discount hunters. The tribunal backed that view.

His firm was admitted for insolvency proceedings on the NCLT on a plea by ICICI Financial institution on June 3 final 12 months. The courtroom dominated that JAL had defaulted on loans obtained from collectors.

ET reported August 2 final 12 months that Gaur had tapped international funds for ₹10,000 crore to make a suggestion to collectors of JAL and retain management of the corporate. The collectors didn’t take into account the proposal and selected to hold on with the decision course of and invite exterior candidates to make sure value discovery by a clear market-driven mechanism.