Adani Enterprises Ltd is likely to be selected as the highest bidder to acquire the debt-laden Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) as lenders are said to be in favour of its faster repayment plan over Vedanta Group’s longer five-year schedule.
Adani’s plan to complete payments within two years reportedly scored higher in the evaluation conducted by JAL’s Committee of Creditors (CoC). In September, Vedanta had initially emerged as the top bidder with an offer of ₹12,505 crore. However, after lenders sought better value, fresh bids were invited from Adani Enterprises, Vedanta, Dalmia Cement (Bharat), Jindal Power and PNC Infratech.
The revised proposals were submitted in on October 14. Adani Enterprises offered ranked highest followed by Dalmia Cement and Vedanta.
The CoC is expected to put the resolution plan to vote within the next two weeks. Dalmia’s offer, however, is understood to be contingent upon a pending Supreme Court verdict involving JAL and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority.
Meanwhile, the former promoters of JAL had also submitted a settlement offer under Section 12A, though they reportedly failed to identify clear funding sources.
JAL, which operates in real estate, cement, power, hospitality, and infrastructure, was admitted into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process by the National Company Law Tribunal, Allahabad, on June 3, 2024, after defaulting on loans. Financial creditors’ claims amount to around ₹60,000 crore, led by the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd, which acquired JAL’s stressed loans from a consortium led by State Bank of India.
In April, 25 companies had expressed interest in acquiring JAL, though only five eventually submitted bids. Vedanta initially emerged as the top bidder in the September challenge process before the latest round of revisions.
JAL’s assets include major real estate projects such as Jaypee Greens in Greater Noida, Wishtown in Noida, and Jaypee International Sports City near Jewar Airport, along with hotel properties in Delhi-NCR, Mussoorie, and Agra.
The group also owns non-operational cement plants in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, besides investments in subsidiaries such as Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd and Yamuna Expressway Tolling Ltd.
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