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Insolvency process: ArcelorMittal's bid for Essar Steel illegal, says VTB

VTB Capital says it will accommodate interests of all stakeholders

Dev Chatterjee & Krishna Kant  |  Mumbai 

A logo is seen on the roof of the ArcelorMittal steelworks headquarters in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Photo: Reuters
A logo is seen on the roof of the ArcelorMittal steelworks headquarters in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Photo: Reuters

is “spoiling” the bidding game of Despite its lobbying with the Indian government, its “illegal bid” should not be cleared as it does not meet the eligibility criteria as per the current Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), said VTB Capital, one of the two bidders for is the other bidder. “We have taken legal opinion from three different law firms and they are all of the opinion that and its promoters’ investments in two non-performing assets (NPAs) in India will debar it from bidding. Hence, we are confident that it is out of the game, but has made the offer just to spoil the game for others,” said Makram Abboud, vice-chairman, international of VTB Capital, which is owned 60 per cent by the Government of Russia. ArcelorMittal, however, in the past has said it is eligible to bid for The results of both bids are expected this week. and its partner, Tyazhpromexport, an engineering company, own 75 per cent stake in Mauritius, which has made a bid for “The current IBC norms are very clear that defaulting and their promoters are not eligible to bid. Yet, bid for Essar Steel,” said Abboud. A Singapore-based trust with Rewant Ruia as its beneficiary owns 25 per cent stake in Reports say Ruia as beneficiary of the trust could also make ineligible, as Ruia-promoted defaulted on bank loans of Rs 440 billion. Abboud said Numetal’s equity structure meets the current IBC norms and is open to discussions with the resolution professional. also indicated that it is open to raise its bid amount for if desired by the resolution professionals/lenders. “We are very flexible in our approach and are willing to accommodate the interests of all stakeholders involved with Essar Steel,” said Abboud. “The Russian government owns 60 per cent stake in our bank. In the past, the Russian government (erstwhile Soviet Union) helped India to set up all the steel plans of SAIL (Steel Authority of India).

We have great experience in running steel plants and turning them around when the industry goes through a downcycle,” said Abboud. VTB Capital, he said, has done over $13 billion of transactions in India. is the investment banking arm of VTB Bank, one of the top universal banks in Russia. Its investment activity outside Russia is part of the broader plan to increase Russia’s investment in fast-growing emerging markets such as India. has been interested in acquiring for the last two years, done due diligence, and had even given a proposal to buy equity earlier to banks. “We have studied very well and we are ready to invest to expand its capacity,” said Abboud. “We did not bid for other stressed steel assets, as we think there was very less time to conduct due diligence,” he added. On reports that the bids of both and have been rejected, Abboud said the resolution professional had made it very clear that no such decision was taken by the legal advisor. “We are awaiting communication from the resolution professional and will then take action,” he said. The controversy over ArcelorMittal’s bid ignited as the group held a 29.05 per cent stake in Uttam Galva Steels as a co-promoter along with the Miglani family, which is now an However, on February 7, just before bidding for Essar Steel, transferred its entire shareholding to the Miglani family at Rs 1. Consequently, the co-promotion agreement with the Miglani family dated September 4, 2009, stood terminated, it had said. As opinion received by Numetal, has been promoter of a corporate debtor (Uttam Galva) for over one year prior to commencement of the resolution process of The only way the person who is a promoter of a corporate debtor becomes eligible is if he makes payment of all overdue amounts with interest. Apart from Uttam Galva, L N Mittal, promoter of ArcelorMittal, also had a personal holding of 33 per cent in KazStroyService (KSS) of Kazakhstan, an oil infrastructure provider company, which, in turn, had a 100 per cent stake in KSS Petron, which became an in 2015. Despite several reminders from State Bank of India to Mittal, KSS loans were not paid and the company became an However, Mittal again sold his shares in KSS Petron just before submission of bid. Some of the lenders had raised questions about the promoter status at the time of the company turning into an and not sale of shares. Earlier, a senior source in had indicated that it will move the courts if its bid is incorrectly rejected.

First Published: Mon, March 05 2018. 02:27 IST
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