New Delhi: Tata Steel, one of the bidders in the race to acquire debt-ridden Bhushan Power and Steel, has moved National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in appeal against National Company Law Tribunal’s order directing the committee of creditors (CoC) to consider UK-based Liberty House’s resolution plan.
The appeal would be heard by an NCLAT bench headed by president S.J. Mukhopadhyay on 9 May.
An NCLT bench headed by M.M. Kumar had directed the insolvency resolution professional to place the unopened sealed cover containing Liberty House’s resolution plan before the next meeting of the CoC who would then “take (an) appropriate commercial decision”.
Ruling that the period of litigation stands excluded from the time-bound resolution period, the NCLT had further extended Bhushan Power and Steel’s resolution deadline to 23 June.
Liberty House had moved the NCLT on 26 February against the rejection of its “unopened” bid for the corporate debtor by the CoC for late submission and failure to submit certain documents such as a confidentiality undertaking.
The last date for submission of bids was 8 February, whereas the insolvency resolution professional received Liberty House’s proposal on 20 February.
Bhushan Power and Steel, which owes over Rs48,500 crore to a consortium of lenders led by Punjab National Bank (PNB), is among the 12 large companies identified by the Reserve Bank of India for early insolvency resolution.