Jaypee Infratech insolvency: Here’s an update for homebuyers

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New Delhi: Financial creditors of debt-ridden Jaypee Infratech will meet on April 29 to discuss the resolution plans submitted by state-owned NBCC and Suraksha group to acquire the realty firm through an insolvency process.

In a regulatory filing, Jaypee Infratech informed that a meeting of Committee of Creditors (CoC) will be held on April 29, 2021.

The agenda of the meeting was not disclosed, but sources said the financial creditors, which includes banks and homebuyers, will continue their negotiations with the two resolution applicants.

In the last meeting of the CoC held on April 17, lenders asked NBCC and Suraksha group to improve their bid and offer more land parcels under the land-debt swap deal. They told the bidders to specify the treatment of dissenting financial creditors, sources had said.

Earlier this month, 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.

In their bids, NBCC has offered 1,526 acre land and Suraksha group around 2,040 acres to lenders.

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 Ltd (JIL), after reconciliation of accounts between the two Jaypee group firms.

On Yamuna Expressway, NBCC has proposed to offer 82% equity in the road asset to lenders and it will retain 18% share. In the 2019 bid, it had proposed 100% transfer of highway.

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

Last month, the Supreme Court remitted to the 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 March last year, the NBCC got approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to acquire Jaypee Infratech.

Homebuyers’ claim amounting to Rs 13,364 crore and lenders’ claim 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 process after the NCLT admitted an application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium. Anuj Jain was appointed as an Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) to conduct 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 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 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% vote in favour in the third round of bidding process.