NARCL gives binding offers for two highway assets and a steel company

NARCL is set to acquire loans of Simplex Infra following an uncontested Swiss auction. The state-backed bad bank has made a binding offer of ?640 crore for debt-laden engineering, procurement, and construction company Simplex Infrastructure, which is less than 7% in recovery to lenders. Simplex owes lenders, led by Punjab National Bank (PNB), a total of Rs 9,600 crore and is one of the largest accounts to be referred to bankruptcy courts in recent times. NARCL is preparing to acquire the loan in cash and security receipts (SRs).

SBFC Finance's initial public offering (IPO) will be open for public subscription from August 3-7. The company's shares are commanding a premium of Rs 40 in the unlisted market, indicating healthy demand.

Based on binding bids from the government-backed bad bank, lenders have initiated a Swiss challenge auction for Hitodi Infra. The lenders, including Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of India, IDBI Bank and State Bank of India, have appointed BoB Capital as the process advisor. NARCL has offered ₹465 crore for the outstanding loans of ₹2,101 crore.

At the meeting, lenders evaluated three offers - a one-time settlement from the promoter company Reliance Power, and two separate offers from CFM Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) and government-promoted National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), the people said.

Lenders will now hold a Swiss challenge auction on March 6, and have invited counter offers with a markup of Rs 15 crore over the anchor offer. NARCL, set up by government to acquire bad loans, will have the first right to match any counter offer. Metenere, undergoing corporate insolvency, is into lead recycling and makes non-ferrous products such as tin and aluminium. Its insolvency process, started in September 2020, is mired in litigation and, thus, it is not resolved yet.

Torrent Investments and Oaktree Capital didn't submit bids, although they had indicated earlier that they would participate in the process, the people said.

NARCL has offered ₹45 crore against a claim of ₹1,173 crore that these two banks have filed with the resolution professional, according to a notice issued by lenders to other ARCs.

Following a nudge from the finance ministry last fortnight, most government-owned banks identified companies they would prefer to sell to National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARCL), the people cited above said. NARCL will identify about 20-25 accounts from the list for acquisition this fiscal year.

The offer comes amid a landmark Supreme Court order that dismissed Axis Bank's petition to admit the company into insolvency stating that the tribunal, which approved admitting the company, should have factored in external factors that led to delay in payments by the defaulting borrower.