Chennai: The creditors’ panel of debt-laden Jaypee Infratech has reportedly decided to vote on the revised offer of NBCC as more than 20,000 home buyers favoured the voting process for the State-run firm’s bid even as bankers dissented.
The voting process would start tomorrow (16 May) and end on Sunday (19 May), while the results would be declared on 20 May.
Bankers who participated in the Committee of Creditors (CoC) meet on Tuesday opposed putting the NBCC’s bid to vote and pitched for further negotiations.
Soon after the CoC decided to put to vote the NBCC’s bid, banks made a plea before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal for a stay on the voting process.
However, the NCLAT refused to stay voting by the creditors. A two-member NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya warned banks that they would get ‘zero rupees’ if the process is stalled.
Justice Mukhopadhaya said the interest of thousands of home-buyers was of prime importance and the matter needed to be resolved even if there is just one bidder.
During the CoC meeting, bankers also proposed that they would take control of Jaypee Infratech and rope in NBCC as Project Management Consultant (PMC) to complete over 20,000 delayed flats, the PTI reported.
The opposition to the revised bid also comes against the backdrop of NBCC on Monday ruling out dilution of certain conditions, including exemption from tax liability, in its revised offer.
However home buyers state that they wanted NBCC’s offer to be put to vote without any delay. Home buyers have nearly 60 per cent voting rights in the CoC but bankers expressed their dissent.
A minimum 66 per cent vote of financial creditors (bankers and homebuyers) is required for the approval of any resolution plan. Jaypee Infratech’s interim resolution professional (IRP) Anuj Jain too favoured voting process for the revised offer, state reports.
Majority of homebuyers are likely to vote in favour of NBCC bid but many also fear that lenders may reject it and opt for liquidation as they do not want to take up to 60 per cent hair-cut against their claim of Rs 9,782 crore.
The CoC is considering NBCC’s revised offer after it rejected Mumbai-based Suraksha Realty’s bid on 3 May, through voting process.
Earlier, the creditors’ panel did not allow vote on NBCC’s bid citing lack of approvals from the government departments.
The court-mandated deadline for completing the resolution plan for Japyee Infratech ended on 6 May, and the CoC has sought an extension of the deadline.
In 2017, Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted the application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium seeking resolution of the firm.
| Revised offer |
| NBCC, in its revised offer, has proposed infusion of Rs 200 crore equity capital, transfer of 950 acres of land worth Rs 5,000 crore to banks and completing construction of flats by July 2023 to settle an outstanding claim of Rs 23,723 crore of financial creditors.Last week, lenders had written to NBCC seeking clarifications on certain relief and concessions put forward by the public sector firm in its resolution plan.
However, NBCC decided not to dilute the conditions of exemption from income tax liability as well as from taking consent of development authorities for transfer of businesses. Apart from NBCC, Adani Group has shown interest to bid for Jaypee Infratech but creditors have not sought resolution plan from Adani so far. |