Binani Cement: NCLAT approves UltraTech’s bid
In its 44-page order, the appellate tribunal has noted that the RPPL’s resolution plan discriminated between some of the financial creditors who are equally situated and not balanced the other stakeholder, such as operational creditors.
After a long drawn legal wrangling which saw the matter going back and forth between the National Company Law Tribunal, the appellate tribunal and even the Supreme Court, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Wednesday finally approved the revised bid of Aditya Birla Group’s UltraTech Cement for the bankrupt Binani Cement. UltraTech has offered to pay `7,960 crores under its plan wherein all the financial as well as the operational creditors will receive their complete dues.
A two-member bench headed by NCLAT chairman Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya while approving UltraTech’s resolution plan said that the plan submitted by rival Dalmia Bharat Group firm Rajputana Properties (RPPL) was discriminatory against some financial creditors.
In its 44-page order, the appellate tribunal has noted that the RPPL’s resolution plan discriminated between some of the financial creditors who are equally situated and not balanced the other stakeholder, such as operational creditors. “Therefore, the adjudicating authority (NCLT Kolkata bench) has rightly held the resolution plan submitted by RPPL to be discriminatory,” it has noted.
It said the committee of creditors (CoC) had erred initially by endorsing RPPL’s plan and rejecting UltraTech’s plan on the ground that it was submitted late. The NCLAT has said that both — RPPL and UltraTech — had submitted their plans on February 12, 2018, and subsequently RPPL had revised its plan on March 7 and UltraTech on March 8, much before the CoC voting date of March 14. However, while the CoC accepted the revised offer of RPPL it did not do so in case of UltraTech.
Wednesday’s order comes after on July 2 the Supreme Court had asked the NCLAT to decide all issues related to Binani Cement’s insolvency case, including the eligibility criteria of UltraTech Cement to file a revised bid. It had also transferred all the cases from the National Company Law Tribunal, Kolkata, to the NCLAT. The apex court had directed the appellate tribunal to decide the case on a day-to-day basis and pronounce its judgment as soon as possible.
Rajputana Properties had moved the SC against the revised decision of the committee of creditors for Binani Cements to consider the revised resolution plan submitted by UltraTech Cement.
Rajputana Properties had maintained that UltraTech Cement was ineligible to submit a resolution plan for Binani Cement under section 29A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and therefore its eligibility should be decided first.
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