By Gopika Gopakumar
MUMBAI (Reuters) -India’s Adani Enterprises said on Wednesday that creditors of Jaiprakash Associates have approved its takeover proposal for the bankrupt infrastructure group.
Earlier in the day, Reuters, citing two officials, reported that the creditors, mostly Indian banks, opted for Adani’s 135-billion-rupee ($1.53 billion) bid over Vedanta’s higher 170-billion-rupee offer because it included larger upfront payments preferred by stakeholders.
Adani Enterprises did not disclose the value of its offer in its statement.
Besides Adani and Vedanta, other bidders included Dalmia Bharat, Jindal Power and PNC Infratech. Controlling shareholder Manoj Gaur also submitted a last-minute bid, which was later withdrawn, the report said.
Jaiprakash Associates, once one of India’s largest infrastructure conglomerates, owes creditors 550 billion rupees. Insolvency proceedings under India’s bankruptcy laws were initiated last June, making it one of the biggest ongoing bankruptcy cases in the country.
Vedanta’s bid entailed a five-year payment timeline, significantly longer than the 1.5-2 years proposed by Adani, swaying creditor preferences, one of the officials said.
“Creditors have voted in favor of Adani. Now the committee of creditors (CoC) will take a final decision, likely reaffirming this outcome, and submit it to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT),” one of them added.
The National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), which acquired Jaiprakash’s loans from a lender consortium led by State Bank of India, leads the list of claimants in the ongoing resolution process.
Emails sent to Manoj Gaur and NARCL were not immediately answered.
A spokesperson from Vedanta had said the company respects the CoC’s “commercial discretion”.
($1 = 88.5350 Indian rupees)
(Reporting by Gopika Gopakumar; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
