Lanco Infratech liquidation: IRP seeks NCLT's direction; 270-day insolvency resolution deadline ends today

Lanco Infratech, currently under insolvency proceedings, today said its Resolution Professional (IRP) is approaching the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) seeking approval for "the company's liquidation or any other direction" as "a potential buyer has come with a revised "resolution plan".

The revised plan had been submitted by Thriveni Earthmovers, a Tamil Nadu-based infra and mining firm, on Tuesday as the creditors of Lanco Infratech earlier "rejected" its "resolution plan", the company said in a regulatory filing.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had last June directed IDBI Bank, lead lender of Lanco Infratech, to initiate insolvency proceedings for the company under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

The company, among 12 firms identified by the RBI with high debt for proceedings under IBC, owes over Rs 44,000 crore to the IDBI Bank-led lenders consortium.

On 7 August last year, the NCLT suspended the powers of the company board and appointed Savan Godiawala as Interim Resolution professional as part of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) for the firm.

In the filing, the company said since the corporate insolvency resolution period expires tomorrow, the necessary application was being filed by the Resolution Professional with the NCLT, Hyderabad Bench.

This is for "...liquidation of the company, or for any other direction which the NCLT may deem fit on account of the revised proposal dated May 1, 2018 submitted by Thriveni Earthmovers Private Limited, it said".

" Lanco said the"earlier plan" of Thriveni Earthmovers received less than 75 percent of votes from the creditors and as the corporate insolvency resolution period expires tomorrow, IRP sought NCLT's "direction"on the issue.

"This is to inform you that the resolution plan submitted by Thriveni Earthmovers Private Limited was presented by the Resolution Professional for the approval of the committee of creditors (CoC), in accordance with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and the rules and regulations framed thereunder.

On account of less than 75 percent of the votes being cast in favor, the aforementioned approval of the CoC could not be obtained," Lanco said in the filing.

A senior official of Lanco told PTI that since Thriveni submitted an enhanced bid on the last date , the CoC did not have time to go through it in detail and hence"decided"to seek NCLT's direction. "We will have to wait and watch for the NCLT's decision whether it would order insolvency of the company or to examine the revised proposal by Thriveni, the official told PTI. "The extended deadline of 270 days to come up with a resolution, ends tomorrow [4 May, 2018]".

Lanco shares closed on Thursday at Rs 0.86 apiece on BSE down 4.44 percent over the previous close.