Jaypee Infratech creditors decide to put on vote NBCC's revised bid; homebuyers likely to favour state-run firm

New Delhi: A creditors panel of Jaypee Infratech on Tuesday decided to put on vote the revised offer of state-owned NBCC Ltd to acquire the debt-laden realty firm through insolvency proceedings, sources said. A Committee of Creditors (CoC) met on Tuesday and took this decision even as NBCC on Monday decided against diluting certain conditions, including exemption from tax liability, in its revised offer. The voting process is likely to start on Thursday and end on Sunday, sources say. On Friday, lenders had written to NBCC seeking clarifications on certain relief and concessions put forward by the public sector firm in its resolution plan. [caption id=“attachment_4294419” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The CoC considered NBCC’s offer after it rejected Mumbai-based Suraksha Realty’s bid on 3 May, through voting process. Earlier, the creditors’ panel did not allow the vote on NBCC’s bid citing lack of approvals from the government departments. NBCC has now got all the necessary approvals. Sources had said on Monday that NBCC has decided not to dilute the conditions of exemption from income tax liability as well as from taking consent of development authorities for the transfer of businesses. It has also not agreed to change its proposal that lenders should take unsold flats in case the state-owned firm fails to sell them in the market. To make changes in these clauses, sources had said, NBCC needed approvals from its board as well as government departments. Homebuyers are likely to vote in favour of NBCC bid but many flat owners fear that lenders may reject it and opt for liquidation as they do not want a hair-cut of about 60 percent against its claim of Rs 9,782 crore. Clarifications from the NBCC were sought in the backdrop of Jaypee Infratech’s Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain flagging to the lenders that NBCC’s bid was conditional and non-binding. Jain had written to the CoC that NBCC’s revised bid was conditional as the state-owned firm has stated that the plan would not be binding on it unless key relief measures such as extinguishing of income tax liability and a dispensation from seeking consent of YEIDA (Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority) for any business transfer is granted, sources had said. In its revised offer, NBCC 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. 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. Apart from NBCC, Adani Group has shown interest to bid for Jaypee Infratech but creditors have not sought resolution plan from Adani so far. Interestingly, Jaypee Group’s promoters have put in a bid, under Section 12A of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), to retain control of the company. In 2017, Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency after NCLT admitted the application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium seeking resolution of the firm. During the first round of insolvency proceedings, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshdeep, part of Suraksha Group, was rejected by lenders. In October 2018, the IRP started a fresh initiative to revive Jaypee Infratech on the NCLT direction.  Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), the promoter of Jaypee Infratech, had submitted Rs 750 crore in the registry of the Supreme Court for the refund to buyers and the amount is lying with NCLT.