NCLT asks Binani Cement lenders to consider Ultra Tech's revised bid

The Kolkata bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) today directed the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Binani Cement to consider the revised bid of Ultra Tech Cement.

The NCLT bench of judges Madan B Gosavi and Jinan KR also directed the CoC to consider the resolution plan of Dalmia Bharat Group's Rajputana Properties Pvt Ltd (RPPL) if it matches UltraTech's offer.

Ultra Tech Cement's offer is Rs 1,021.70 crore more than that of the Dalmia Bharat Group's, the NCLT said.

Though the exact bid amount figures were not available, Ultra Tech's revised bid is around Rs 7,960 crore while of RPPL's offer is around Rs 6,900 crore.

The revised bid from Ultra Tech has to be submitted within three days from today to the resolution professional to be placed before the Binani Cement CoC, the NCLT said.

Binani had agreed to sell 98 per cent stake to Ultra Tech trying to stall the insolvency proceeding in an out-of-court settlement with the lenders.

The bench said the order made it clear that if both the resolution applicants (Bharat Dalmia and Ultra Tech) are willing to participate in the bidding process, the best for the revival of the corporate debtors is to be decided by the CoC.

A legal advisor of UltraTech said this can result in open bidding at the CoC if both the bidders continue to revise their bids.

Ultra Tech had earlier indicated that if Dalmia Bharat matches the bid amount then they were ready to increase the offer by another Rs 500 crore.

The entire corporate insolvency resolution (CIRP) process has to be now concluded before June 24 after the bench excluded the days lost in litigations from the 270 days deadline, the NCLT said.

The original 270-day deadline was on April 21.

The next hearing is on June 4 for an update on the progress, it said.

The intense courtroom takeover war between Bharat Dalmia's contention that the rule of the game cannot be changed at its fag end when the H1 bidder is selected by the CoC through voting and UltraTech contesting that its revised bid, which allows paying all the lenders and operational creditors without any haircut, was not considered by the RP and CoC.

The Binani Cement CoC had said it had followed Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), RBI and Indian Banks Association guidelines for selection of the H1 resolution applicant.

Binani Industries (parent of Binani Cement) had also attempted to get Supreme Court's intervention for an out-of-court settlement, but the application had been withdrawn after the apex court's remarks and the matter was referred back to NCLT Kolkata.

Operational Creditors said it was a landmark judgement for considering all stakeholders interest involved in the case.