CFM ARC raises offer for Vidarbha Industries
Vidarbha Industries Power and deposited the ₹1,265-crore bid price, representing 49% recovery for the lenders. Vidarbha Industries is a subsidiary of Anil Ambani's Reliance Power.
«In a meeting held today lenders asked CFM ARC to improve the bid amount to ₹1,265 crore from ₹1,220 crore and close the transaction,» said a bank source. «CFM ARC has deposited the entire amount in two tranches by the end of the day.»Axis Bank had appointed SBI Caps as the process advisor for the sale and had invited counteroffers based on CFM ARC's all-cash bid.
Varde Partners, Reliance ARC, and Avenue Capital-backed Asset Reconstruction Company of India (Arcil) had submitted expressions of interest (EOIs) to acquire the debt but the Swiss challenge process went uncontested, as reported by ET. Spokespersons of CFM ARC and SBI Caps did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Separately, Reliance ARC has submitted a writ petition in the Bombay High Court opposing the Swiss challenge method during the sale of debt of Vidarbha Industries Power arguing that «unlimited right of the initial bidder to simply match any competing bid goes against the idea of fair competition in the Swiss Challenge Process.» The matter will be taken up for hearing on August 22, a lawyer source said. Lenders opted to sell the debt to an asset reconstruction company for quicker recovery as in a previous insolvency application by Axis Bank to admit the company under Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 got derailed after the Supreme Court ruled the code to prioritise company revival and consider feasibility and circumstances when deciding on admission.
The company runs a coal-based power project in Nagpur. Its electricity rates are regulated by
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