Jaypee Infratech insolvency: lenders, homebuyers ask Suraksha group to improve bid

New Delhi: Lenders of Jaypee Infratech have asked Suraksha group to improve its bid by offering more land while homebuyers pitched for a reduction in timeline for completion of housing projects, sources said on Saturday.

A Committee of Creditors (CoC) met on Saturday to discuss the revised bids of state-owned NBCC and Suraksha group for acquiring Jaypee Infratech through the insolvency process.

This is the fourth round of bidding in the matter of Jaypee Infratech, which went into insolvency in August 2017.

According to sources, lenders asked Suraksha group to offer more land under the land-debt swap deal as against the current offer of about 2,050 acres in Noida and Greater Noida.

Suraksha group was also told to specify how it will settle the dues of dissenting financial creditors, they added.

Homebuyers demanded that Suraksha group should reduce the timeline for giving possession of their flats, sources said.

Last week, NBCC and Mumbai-based Suraksha group submitted their revised bids to acquire Jaypee Infratech through an insolvency process, as per the direction of the Supreme Court.

The resolution plans were submitted to Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) Anuj Jain.

Last month, the Supreme Court remitted to the Committee of Creditors (CoC) the issue of approval of resolution plan for Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), saying no new expression of interest would be entertained for taking over the firm and only NBCC and Suraksha Realty could file revised proposals.

The apex court also directed to extend the resolution process by 45 days.

In the last meeting of the CoC which was held on April 12, NBCC, which has proposed to offer 1,526 acre of land to lenders, was asked to give the break-up and locations where these land parcels are situated at Noida and Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

Lenders had also asked the NBCC to take the government’s approval as well as the fair trade regulator nod on the bid. In the current round of bidding process, NBCC and Suraksha have made some changes in their revised plans in view of the apex court direction to return Rs 750 crore with accrued interest to Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), the promoter group of Jaypee Infratech, after reconciliation of accounts between JAL and JIL.

NBCC has offered 1,526 acres of land to lenders under a land-debt swap deal and Rs 10 crore as equity contribution. On Yamuna Expressway, NBCC proposed to offer 82 per cent equity in the road asset to lenders and it will retain 18 per cent share. In the 2019 bid, it has proposed 100 per cent transfer of highway.

Suraksha has offered 2,040 acres to lenders worth Rs 7,500 crore. It will also infuse Rs 250 crore as equity in two tranches for construction.

In March last year, the NBCC got approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to acquire Jaypee Infratech.

Homebuyers’ claims amounting to Rs 13,364 crore and lenders’ claims worth Rs 9,783 crore were admitted last year.The order was however challenged in the appellate tribunal NCLAT and later in the Supreme Court.

Jaypee Infratech went into insolvency in August 2017 after the NCLT admitted an application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium.

Anuj Jain was appointed as the IRP to conduct the insolvency process and also manage the affairs of the company.

In the first round of insolvency proceeding, the Rs 7,350-crore bid of Lakshadweep, part of Suraksha Group, was rejected by lenders.

The CoC rejected the bids of Suraksha Realty and NBCC in the second round held in May-June 2019.

The matter then reached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) and then the apex court.On November 6, 2019, the Supreme Court directed the completion of Jaypee Infratech’s insolvency process within 90 days and ordered that the revised resolution plan to be invited only from NBCC and Suraksha Realty.

In December 2019, the CoC comprising 13 banks and around 21,000 homebuyers, approved the resolution plan of NBCC with 97.36 per cent vote in favour in the third round of the bidding process.