Days after the financial creditors termed the government-owned NBCC’s offer for Jaypee Infratech as unviable, the Adani group has re-entered the race by making a non-binding offer of Rs 500 crore as upfront payment to the lenders, employees and operational lenders.
The Committee of Creditors will take a call on Adani’s fresh offer on May 30. The Adani group has additionally offered 1,000 acres of land to the lenders and Rs 1,700 crore to construct the houses for home owners. Of the Rs 500 crore, the lenders would receive Rs 23 crore as cash payment.
The Adani offer, if accepted by the lenders, would entail a huge haircut on Jaypee Infratech’s Rs 8,000 crore debt. The Supreme Court had directed in August last year that Rs 750 crore deposited by Jaypee group in the apex court will be transferred to the NCLT and continue to remain invested and abide by directions as may be issued by the NCLT, Allahabad bench.
This is the second time when Adani is trying its luck with a company facing the insolvency process after its bid to take over Ruchi Soya was unsuccessful. The race to Ruchi Soya was won by Patanjali Ayurved.
The CoC had earlier rejected an offer by Suraksha Realty Ltd as the offer was revised downwards this year as compared to its first offer made in 2018 due to the fall in real estate prices.
A source said the Adani group is interested in the rights for land development of 25 million square meters worth Rs 5,000 crore along the Yamuna Expressway.
When contacted, an Adani group spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
NBCC had earlier made it clear that it would withdraw its offer for the company if the government authorities reject approval for the transfer of Jaypee’s land and the Yamuna Expressway connecting New Delhi and Agra to it. The lenders were also not enthused by NBCC’s another condition seeking income tax waiver for the next 30 years on land transfer.
“The conditional offers would put lenders at significant risk,” said a source in the committee of creditors. Jaypee Infrastech had defaulted to loans to a consortium of 13 bankers led by IDBI Bank and was on the RBI's first list of 12 defaulters.
Apart from Jaypee Infra, its erstwhile promoter, Jaypee Associates is a defaulter of more than 30 banks to the extent of around Rs 30,000 crores. JAL has also defaulted on fixed deposits, foreign currency convertible bonds and payments to Noida Authority, as per a Supreme Court order dated August 9, 2018.