Lanco creditors to seek time extension to complete insolvency process

The committee of creditors (COC) of Lanco Infratech (LIPL) decided to seek an extension of time from National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to complete the ongoing insolvency resolution process as the lenders want to have a full clarity on possible scenarios of resolution.
 
"The COC had held a meeting on Monday and decided to ask for an extension of time. The decision is yet to be formally communicated to the NCLT Hyderabad bench," a senior company official said today.
 
The initial 180-day period provided under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) for the completion of insolvency process comes to an end on February 7, 2018, in Lanco's case. If convinced of progress in finding a resolution, NCLT can give 90 more days to conclude the process.

Explaining the status of the ongoing insolvency resolution process to the shareholders at the company's annual general meeting here on Friday, NCLT-appointed resolution professional (RP) Savan Godiwala said the information memorandum related to the debt and assets of the company has already been prepared and shared with potential suitors.
 
The process of inviting expression of interest (EoI) from the interested parties for submission of resolution plans was still open, according to Godiwala.

"The response so far has been good as some of the large companies have come forward to participate in the resolution process," he said while refusing to share any further information.
 
Company officials pointed out at a strong possibility of receiving the resolution plans targeting a particular asset of the company alongside the company-level resolution plans since Lanco operations are extended to multiple verticals including power and roads.
 
A full clarity is expected to emerge by end of January as the COC has been expecting to keep receiving the proposals from potential suitors over the next one month, according to the officials. 
 
NCLT had initiated insolvency resolution for Lanco on August 7, 2017, based on a petition filed by the company's lead lender IDBI Bank. Lanco has a debt of over Rs 10,000 crore at the holding company level while the consolidated debt was more than Rs 40,000 crore.
 
Work on all the incomplete power projects pf the company have come to a standstill, according to the company officials.