National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) Amedabad bench today cleared
ArcelorMittal's Rs 42,000 crore resolution plan for Essar Steel takeover. ArcelorMittal, which has been engaged in a drawn-out attempt to acquire
Essar Steel since 2017, had made a Rs 42,000 crore offer for the bankrupt Essar steel.
Clearing ArcelorMittal's bid, NCLT said it cannot impose judicial view over banks' wisdom. However, asking Committee of Creditors (CoC) to reconsider distribution of dues, NCLT has suggested the lenders to give 15 per cent of total offer to operational creditors. ArcelorMittal’s takeover bid was approved by the CoC in October last year and was pending before NCLT since then.
Earlier, National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had directed the NCLT Ahmedabad bench to take a decision on the resolution plan submitted by ArcelorMittal by March 8.
Earlier, on January 29, NCLT Ahmedabad had rejected the debt settlement proposal put forth by the shareholders of Essar Steel saying the offer violates Section 12A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
The NCLT had said that Rs 54,389-crore offer by Essar Steel Asia Holding, which is much higher than the ArcelorMittal's Rs 42,000 crore bid, is not maintainable as the only way to make a proposal is through Section 12A.
Essar Steel owns a 10-million-tonne steel mill in Gujarat.
(Inputs from PTI)