Binani Industries to move Supreme Court with Rs 7,618 crore offer

Kolkata: Binani Industries has decided to move the Supreme Court with an appeal to redeem the pledge of its assets in debt ridden subsidiary Binani Cements Ltd from its lenders and will also submit 10 percent of the offer to prove its commitment, a company official on Monday said.

"We are moving the Supreme Court for sure. We have assurance of support from most of the lenders for this move," a Binani group spokesman told PTI.

Redeeming the pledge will mean seeking an end to the bankruptcy proceedings against it from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The Committee of Creditors (CoC), despite supporting the Rs 7,618 crore offer, declined to accept it due to lack of clarity in legal interpretation in several rounds of meeting held both yesterday and today.

The Binani group had sought lenders' support on whether it should move the apex court or not.

Lenders, part of the Committee of Creditors (CoC), desired that there was no problem in the offer unless a higher adjudicating authority permits it.

Binani, backed by Aditya Birla group's UltraTech Cement, has already received comfort letter for financial support.

Binani has agreed to pay the interest till date since the insolvency proceedings started.

From the day insolvency proceedings were initiated by NCLT, the interest on dues are not charged.

UltraTech Cement entered into an agreement with Binani Industries to buy 98.43 percent stake in Binani Cements. Operational creditors are supporting UltraTech backed Binani offer as it covers entire claim.

Dalmia Bharat group, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Rajputana Properties, had emerged as the highest bidder with an offer to pay Rs 6,350 crore for Binani Cements.

The fate of the takeover is hanging in the balance and is set to reach the Supreme Court.

Binani group is hoping to get a favorable outcome from the apex court that will empower the CoC to consent to an out-of-court settlement even after Dalmia Bharat's final voted offer had been submitted before the NCLT, Binani and lenders sources said.

Bharat Dalmia officials has said any out-of-court settlement, while a company undergoes bankruptcy proceedings, will set a bad precedent.