Appellate tribunal refuses to stay NCLT order in Binani Cement case
05 May 2018
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The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Friday reserved an order in the Binani Cement case but declined to stay an order passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directing lenders of Binani Cement to consider the superior offer made by Aditya Birla Group company UltraTech Cement.
The NCLT had, on Wednesday, asked the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Binani Cement to consider the revised offer from UltraTech Cement Ltd. The tribunal, however, allowed Dalmia Bharat to match UltraTech’s revised offer, if it so chooses.
Dalmia Bharat, whose offer was earlier accepted by the resolution professional as the highest bid, had challenged the NCLT decision at the NCLAT. The tribunal will hear the case next on 22 May.
The Dalmia Bharat-controlled Rajputana Properties Pvt Ltd (RPPL) was the highest bidder for Binani Cement.
UltraTech subsequently increased its bid twice. But the CoC rejected the offer on the grounds that UltraTech failed to meet the deadline for submitting bids.
The UltraTech offer is now Rs1,022 crore more than Dalmia Bharat’s original offer. The NCLT, while pronouncing its order, had observed that the objective of the IBC was maximisation of value and directed the CoC to reconsider the resolution plan by Ultratech.
UltraTech had also signed an agreement with Binani Industries, the parent company of Binani Cement, to buy its cement assets for Rs7,266 crore.
UltraTech’s revised the bid for Binani Cement, which is nearly Rs7,960 crore, which will cover all the financial and operational creditor dues.
The tribunal had pointed out that while the UltraTech offer was not legally binding, nothing prevented the CoC from accepting a superior bid from UltraTech, which offered Rs1,022 crore more to the lenders.
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