Liberty House could well be in the race to buy Bhushan Power and Steel Limited as the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), after hearing its petition on Monday, asked the creditors to explain why the Liberty House bid for BPSL was rejected.
Tata Steel is learnt to have emerged the highest bidder for BPSL with a bid exceeding ₹17,000 crore, higher than Sajjan Jindal-led JSW’s ₹11,000-crore bid. In an email reply to a query, a Liberty House spokesperson said, “The matter is sub judice. We are hopeful that our bona fide will stand out.” The NCLT on Monday asked the Committee of Creditors (CoC) to submit by Friday its reply to the petition. The petition followed the CoC’s decision to reject Liberty’s bid for BPSL.
“Our bid is valid as it was submitted within the 270-day time frame stipulated by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,” a source in Liberty House told The Hindu.
‘Delay in process’
The last date for submission of bids, according to the interim resolution professional, was February 8, while Liberty House submitted its bid on February 20.
The next hearing is scheduled for March 5, which may delay the final announcement of the winning bids as the CoC was scheduled to meet on March 6 to announce the winning bidder.
