Patanjali Ayurveda has moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) with a plea to direct lenders of stressed Ruchi Soya to consider its offer since Adani Wilmar has expressed in writing its wish to withdraw its offer citing “delays” in the resolution process.
Patanjali filed its plea on January 23 in the Mumbai bench of the insolvency tribunal and the next hearing for the matter is slated for February 7.
“We have filed an application with the NCLT for it to direct the Ruchi Soya lenders to consider our offer,” a Patanjali Ayurveda spokesperson told ET, but did not disclose other details saying the matter is sub judice.
Adani Wilmar, the preferred bidder for the asset, had in December written a letter to the resolution professional (RP) and lenders of Ruchi Soya withdrawing its Rs 5,474-crore offer as a delay in closing the process was causing “deterioration of the asset”. It said the delay was “detrimental to the interest of the stakeholders”. The plan was voted by 96% lenders as the preferred one in August but has not been approved by the NCLT.
Following this, Patanjali also expressed its interest to RP Shailendra Ajmera and the lenders and said it was ready to match Adani’s offer given a chance.
Adani Wilmar, a joint venture between infrastructure major Adani Group and Singapore’s Wilmar International, was voted by the committee of creditors (CoC) as the winning bidder for India’s largest bankrupt edible oil maker that owes Rs 9,405 crore to lenders and Rs 1,248 crore to operational creditors in August.
Out of Adani Wilmar’s offer of Rs 5,474 crore, Rs 4,300 crore was to be paid to lenders. Yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurveda upped the offer to Rs 5,765 crore, but set aside a smaller Rs 4,065 crore for the lenders.
Source: ETRetail
