 "gavel, IBC, Insolvency, bankruptcy, court, judgement, laws")
The contest for Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) is set to intensify as Vedanta, Adani group and other suitors were asked to submit revised bids by Thursday evening, and detail how they intend to finance the purchase, people familiar with the matter said.
Vedanta had topped an earlier online auction with a ₹12,505 crore offer for the company’s assets, about ₹250 crore more than Adani’s fair value bid. Other players are also expected to return with improved terms, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are private.
Lenders are seeking greater clarity on funding after US-based short seller Viceroy Research questioned Vedanta’s balance-sheet strength and liquidity.
The Adani group, meanwhile, is expected to table a more aggressive bid for JAL, whose businesses span cement, real estate and engineering projects. The Noida-based company was pushed into bankruptcy court after defaulting on loans of about ₹59,000 crore.
Vedanta and Adani did not comment on their bids.
Analysts remain skeptical about the appeal of JAL’s portfolio. Viceroy Research has argued that JAL's disparate operations lack synergies, and are structurally difficult to turn around. Its construction arm has seen profitability collapse, with return on assets falling to 0.6 per cent in 2025 from a five-year average of 2.5 per cent.
The cement division is running at just 5 per cent of capacity in FY25, down from 24 per cent four years earlier, underscoring severe underutilisation and impairment risk, according to Viceroy. The real estate arm — including Jaypee Greens Sports City and luxury housing projects — has absorbed nearly ₹19,716 crore in investments, of which about ₹16,000 crore remains stranded. The real estate division is also litigating with the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority over which early this year cancelled JAL’s allotment of 1,085 hectares at the Sports City SDZ over JAL’s stalled development at the site.
For now, the lenders’ evaluation hinges not only on bid values but also on proof of funding, with final offers expected to set the stage for one of India’s most closely watched distressed-asset battles.
How the bidding has panned out
- Vedanta leads with ₹12,505 crore bid, ₹250 crore higher than Adani
- Adani group expected to table a more aggressive bid for JAL
- Lenders seeking greater clarity on funding after Viceroy questioned Vedanta’s balance sheet
- Sports City allotment of 1,085 hectares cancelled earlier
