Financial creditors to meet on May 15 to discuss bids for Jaypee Infratech

NEW DELHI: Lenders and homebuyers of Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) will meet on May 15 to discuss the revised bids submitted by state-owned NBCC and Suraksha group to acquire debt-laden realty firm through insolvency process. In a regulatory filing, Jaypee Infratech informed that a meeting of committee of creditors (CoC) will be held on May 15.

The agenda of the meeting was not disclosed.

However, sources said that the lenders and homebuyers will discuss the revised bids submitted on Monday by the two parties that are in race to acquire JIL.

In the new resolution plan or bid, Suraksha group has now offered a line of credit of Rs 3,000 crore as working capital for construction of projects as against the earlier proposal of Rs 2,000 crore.

It has also given an undertaking that any shortfall to the dissenting creditors will be met by bringing more funds or assets.

NBCC is offering up to 1,903 acre, while Surakasha group has proposed over 2,600 acre to lenders.

Suraksha group has earmarked 1,486 acre to dissenting lenders out of the total land parcels offered in the proposal.

NBCC has provided an additional 377-acre land in case dissenting financial creditors are not satisfied with its original offer of 1,526 acre, taking its total offer to up to 1,903 acre.

While Suraksha group will keep Yamuna Expressway with itself, the NBCC will transfer over 80 per cent of stake in the road projects to banks and financial institutions.

Both NBCC and Suraksha have proposed to complete the pending around 20,000 flats and handover to homebuyers.

It is estimated that around Rs 6,000 crore will be required to complete all stalled projects. The receivables from customers against sales are estimated at around Rs 3,500 crore, the sources said.

This is the fourth round of the bidding process in the matter of JIL bankruptcy case.

In March this year, the Supreme Court remitted to the CoC the issue of approval of resolution plan for Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), saying no new expression of interest would be entertained for taking over the firm, and only NBCC and Suraksha Realty could file revised proposals.

The apex court had also directed to extend the resolution process by 45 days, which has already lapsed.

JIL went into the insolvency process in August 2017 after the NCLT admitted an application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium.

Anuj Jain was appointed as an interim resolution professional (IRP) to conduct the insolvency process and also manage the affairs of the company.

In the first round of insolvency proceeding, the Rs 7,350-crore bid of Lakshadweep, part of Suraksha Group, was rejected by lenders.

The CoC had rejected the bids of Suraksha Realty and NBCC in the second round held in May-June 2019.

The matter then reached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and then the apex court.

On November 6, 2019, the Supreme Court directed the completion of Jaypee Infratech’s insolvency process within 90 days and ordered that the revised resolution plan to be invited only from NBCC and Suraksha Realty.

In December 2019, the CoC comprising 13 banks and around 21,000 homebuyers, approved the resolution plan of NBCC with a 97.36 per cent vote in favour in the third round of the bidding process.

Then, in March 2020, NBCC had got an approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to acquire Jaypee Infratech.

Homebuyers’ claim amounting to Rs 13,364 crore and lenders’ claims worth Rs 9,783 crore were admitted last year.

The order was, however, challenged in the appellate tribunal NCLAT and later in the Supreme Court, which has now ordered to call fresh bids from the same two contenders — NBCC and Suraksha.