Comments
Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved on Friday filed an application with the NCLT challenging the decision taken by lenders to approve Adani Wilmar’s bid for Ruchi Soya.
A PTI report said the matter is expected to come up for hearing on August 27 before the Mumbai Bench of NCLT.
Ruchi Soya’s Committee of Creditors (CoC) had yesterday approved Adani Wilmar’s ₹6,000-crore bid. Patanjali was the only other bidder.
Adani Wilmar’s bid included ₹4,300 crore for repayment of loans and another ₹1,714 crore by way of capital infusion.
Patanjali’s bid stood at about ₹5,700 crore, of which ₹4,065 crore would be payable to the lenders and another ₹1,700 crore earmarked as capital infusion, sources privy to the development told BusinessLine .
Swiss challenge method
The lenders had, for the first time, followed a Swiss challenge bidding method, wherein an authorised entity publishes the details of a bid and invites third parties to match or exceed it.
Patanjali had earlier raised a “conflict of interest” issue to throw a spanner in Adani’s application. It had asked the CoC to give details of the appointment of Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as legal adviser to Ruchi Soya’s Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP). The law firm was also advising Adani Wilmar simultaneously.
Though Cyril Amarchand is understood to have subsequently resigned as advisor to Adani Wilmar, Patanjali may raise the red flag as the exit happened after the resolution process started. Sources close to the Adani camp said that since the law firm had exited before the bids were opened, there is no conflict of interest.
As of December 31, 2017, Ruchi Soya’s debt stood at about ₹12,000 crore. It is India’s largest edible oilseed extraction and refining company, with a capacity of 3.72 mtpa.
It is also the largest player in the cooking oil and soya foods category in the country. Its brands include Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Star and Ruchi Gold.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.