Three-way race for Essar Steel: ArcelorMittal, Numetal-JSW, Vedanta in fray

JSW is back in the race for stressed assets by partnering Russia's VTB Bank to bid via Numetal

Essar Steel, put up for bidding for the second time, saw companies owned by metal sector billionaires taking part on Monday. This time, lenders expect the valuation to cross the $6 billion mark and none or minimal haircut, with Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta, L N Mittal’s ArcelorMittal, and VTB Bank-owned Numetal, which tied up with Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Steel, making aggressive bids.

The bids, however, are subject to the decision of the Ahmedabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on suits filed by Numetal and ArcelorMittal against their first round bid rejections. The Bench will hear their pleas on