Bhushan lenders asked to consider Liberty House bid

Resolve by June 23, tribunal tells IRP

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has asked the committee of creditors (CoC) of Bhushan Power and Steel Limited (BPSL) to consider U.K.-based Liberty House bid for the debt-laden firm.

The direction came on Monday after Liberty House challenged the rejection of its bid by the Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) of BPSL for late submission.

‘Delay no reason’

The NCLT bench headed by President Justice M. M. Kumar ruled that bids can be rejected on substantive grounds and not because of delay. The tribunal also extended the deadline for finalising the resolution plan by two months to June 23.

“NCLT has asked the CoC of Bhushan Power to consider Liberty House bid and take an appropriate commercial decision as per the IBC process,” a lawyer in the know of the development told The Hindu. Liberty House had submitted that the IRP rejected its bid without even opening it.

“It’s a big positive for Liberty House,” its spokesperson told The Hindu. “Our stand is vindicated by the NCLT order. We are waiting for the judgement copy,” she added.

BPSL owes its lenders ₹47,301 crore as on March 9, 2018, according to firm website. It owes another ₹706.88 crore to the operational creditors and ₹82.73 crore to workmen.

Tata Steel had emerged as the highest bidder for BPSL, outbidding JSW Steel.

Tata Steel is learnt to have bid upwards of ₹24,000 crore while JSW Steel had quoted about ₹13,000 crore. Liberty House claimed its bid was higher.

BPSL is one of the 12 stressed accounts identified by the RBI for resolution under the IBC law.