Jindal Stainless Steel made the highest bid of ₹250 crore in upfront cash payment among the six companies that submitted a binding offer, said one of the two people quoted above. Once the transaction closes, it would be the first acquisition by
Steel under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Ratan Jindal is the third son of the late OP Jindal and the brother of promoter Sajjan Jindal.
The other five companies – Rimjhim
Ltd, Shyam and , Saarloha Advanced Material Pvt Ltd, Kalyan Toll Infrastructure and Trishakti Power Pvt Ltd – have submitted binding offers, the people named above said. Bids from the five firms were above ₹120 crore but below ₹200 crore, the first person said.
EY-backed resolution professional (PR) Shailendra
received nearly 30 expressions of interest (EOI) for the bankrupt steel company. These include declarations of interest from , , UK-based private equity fund Synergy Metal & Mining Fund and Ares SSG Assets Care & Reconstruction Company (ACRE).
The PR and Jindal Stainless Steel did not respond to request for comment.
“The resolution professional opened firm offers last week. Lenders are likely to negotiate with the highest bidder to improve the offer,” said a third person with knowledge of the development.
Indore-based Mittal Corp, which has two steelmaking units, verified claims of Rs 1,587 crore. The highest bidder results in a 16% takeover for the lenders.
and ACRE are among the main lenders to bankrupt steel companies.
Mittal Corp is also among 15 shortlisted companies that would transfer to the bad bank: National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd.
Tobacco manufacturer Bommidala Enterprises; The Jhawar family promoted JICS Logistics; air freight service provider GSEC Ltd; and Prudent Asset Reconstruction Company’s RKG Fund were among 30 companies that submitted EoIs.
In 2016, the lenders tried to sell the company to a strategic buyer by converting its debt into 51% equity under the then-current strategic debt restructuring program approved by the Reserve Bank of India. However, the account deteriorated and the lenders could not find a buyer. He was later admitted to the NCLT following a request from
.
