Resolution Professional submits Vedanta offer for Electrosteel to NCLT

For Anil Aggarwal's Vedanta, if Goa mining ban is a worry, the bid for Electrosteel is a way to secure future growth

The Resolution Professional (RP) on Monday submitted the Anil Agarwal group-owned Vedanta Ltd offer for bankrupt Electrosteel Steels Ltd before the Kolkata bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for approval.

According to reports, Vedanta's offer is around Rs 45 - Rs 50 billion.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the Vedanta offer after they met on March 29 to look into the Renaissance Steels objections to bids made by Tata Steel and Vedanta in terms of their eligibility under Section 29 (A) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The CoC, constituted in terms of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, has approved the resolution plan for the company submitted by Vedanta Limited, Electrosteel Steels had informed the bourses.

The 270-day deadline for insolvency resolution process completion will expire on April 17.

The Resolution Professional had received bids from Vedanta, Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors, Tata Steel and Renaissance Steel.

After the Goa mining ban came into effect in mid-March this year following a Supreme Court order, the successful bid for Electrosteel Steels comes as a major boost to Vedanta as it will enable the group to foray into value-addition and steel making very soon, industry watchers had said.

Electrosteel has been setting up a 2.5 million tonnes integrated steel plant to make pig iron, billets, bars, wire rods, and ductile iron pipes near Siyaljori village, in Bokaro district of Jharkhand.

The project got delayed but is partially operational.

Electrosteel also has iron ore linkages to supply raw materials to the project, allowing Vedanta in getting access to these mining reserves as well.

Vedanta, in its January conference call, had said that its iron ore mining licence in Jharkhand requires it to do value addition within the state.

In its presentation, Vedanta also talked about a 10 million tonnes per annum iron ore project in Jharkhand.

It was in the process of setting up a one million tonnes plant to make pig iron and ductile pipes in Jharkhand, which is in a preliminary stage.