All three resolution applicants — a consortium of Varde Partners and Arena Investors, National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL) and Authum Investment and Infrastructure — have submitted their revised resolution plans for acquiring two insolvent Srei companies.
The revised resolution plans are likely to be put on vote for approval of the consolidated committee of creditors (CoC) on January 2 or 3, 2023, sources with knowledge of the matter told FE.
Earlier, the CoC of Srei Infrastructure Finance (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance (SEFL) extended the deadline for submission of the revised resolution plans till December 24 after the resolution applicants had asked for additional time. The CoC had asked all three bidders for upward revisions of their financial bids and upfront cash offered.
“Revised resolution plans have come. Discussions on the plans have also taken place. Now, the plans are ready for the challenge mechanism,” the sources cited above said. The revised plans are likely to be put on vote on January 2 or 3.
The 27th meeting of the consolidated CoC was conducted on December 26. The meeting was held virtually.
In the first week of December, the consortium of Varde Partners and Arena Investor had submitted a financial bid of around `14,000 crore for SIFL and SEFL, while NARCL had put forward a financial bid of around Rs 13,600 crore. However, Authum Investment and Infrastructure’s financial bid had stood as low as Rs 4,500 crore, according to people familiar with the resolution process.
The final date for completion of the CIRP process is scheduled on January 5, 2023. However, the CoC and the administrator, Rajneesh Sharma, may approach the Kolkata bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking some extension of the CIRP period to complete the resolution process.
“The completion of the resolution process may get delayed by some days due to litigation issues. Due to the judiciary process around 40 days have been lost and the CIRP was held up. Despite this, the resolution process is expected to be completed within a reasonable time,” the sources added. A mail sent to the administrator was unanswered till press time.
Notably, a plea by Adisri Commercial, a shareholder of SIFL, against the NCLT Kolkata bench’s insolvency order was rejected by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) earlier this month.
Insolvency proceedings against SIFL and its subsidiary SEFL commenced in October, 2021 after insolvency petitions filed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) were approved by the Kolkata bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The total admitted claims of the financial creditors of the two NBFCs are Rs 32,750.22 crore. State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Union Bank of India, IDBI Bank, UCO Bank and Indian Overseas Bank, among others, are the financial creditors of SIFL and SEFL.