Creditors reject Suraksha Realty’s bid for Jaypee Infratech

New Delhi, May 3

Financial creditors of Jaypee Infratech on Friday rejected Suraksha Realty’s bid for the debt-laden firm as the offer was low on upfront cash payment, sources said.

Under the insolvency proceedings, 41.85 per cent of the total votes of the committee of creditors (CoC) were against the proposal, while 23.47 per cent were in favour.

Most of those voting in favour were homebuyers, who hold about 60 per cent of the voting rights in the CoC.

The remaining around 34.69 per cent homebuyers abstained from the voting process, which started on April 30 and concluded on Friday. As much as 66 per cent votes is required for acceptance of a proposal.

Mumbai-based Suraksha group was the lone contender in the race to acquire Jaypee Infratech after the CoC rejected the bid of state-owned NBCC Ltd on the grounds that the offer did not have approval from various government departments.

This is the second time when Suraksha’s bid has been rejected.

Suraksha Realty Ltd had in this round offered lenders Rs 18.55 crore as upfront payment and land parcels worth Rs 5,000 crore to settle the debt.

It also proposed to infuse Rs 3,000 crore capital to complete construction of over 20,000 flats.

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.

Jaypee Infratech, which is a subsidiary of Jaypee Group’s flagship firm Jaiprakash Associates, owes nearly Rs 9,800 crore to financial creditors.

Anuj Jain was appointed as interim resolution professional (IRP) to oversee the affairs of the company and conduct the bidding process to find a buyer for Jaypee Infratech who can complete pending 20,000 flats in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

During the first round of insolvency proceedings, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshdeep, part of Suraksha group, was rejected by lenders as it was found to be substantially lower than the company’s net worth and assets as well as liquidation value of about Rs 14,000 crore.

In October 2018, the IRP started a fresh initiative to revive Jaypee Infratech on the NCLT’s direction.

Meanwhile, the lead lender IDBI approached the Allahabad bench of the NCLT seeking extension of insolvency proceedings beyond the May 6 deadline as the process was still underway to find a buyer.

In the meantime, NBCC Ltd has got the necessary approvals from the government departments for its offer and has written to the IRP that its bid should be reconsidered on merit. The public sector unit asserted that it would take steps to protect its interest, as well as of lenders and homebuyers.

To protect financial creditors’ interest, NBCC said it has offered Rs 5,000 crore worth land as well as 100 per cent equity of Yamuna Expressway, the only cash generating asset with Jaypee Infratech.

Last month, business conglomerate Adani Group too wrote to the IRP, expressing its interest to bid for Jaypee Infratech. However, sources had said that the lenders would not seek Adani’s bid until this round of insolvency proceedings gets completed.

Crisis-hit Jaypee Group’s promoters too have made a fresh attempt to retain control over its realty arm Jaypee Infratech by seeking the support of homebuyers for its debt resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Jaypee Group Chairman Manoj Gaur has promised to infuse Rs 2,000 crore to complete pending apartments over the next four years. The group had submitted a Rs 10,000-crore plan before lenders in April 2018 as well, but the same was not accepted.

Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) had submitted Rs 750 crore in the registry of the Supreme Court for the refund to buyers and the amount is lying with the NCLT. PTI