Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and D-Mart promoter Radhakishan Damani are teaming up to bid for the debt-ridden Binani Cement, according to a report in The Economic Times.
"The partnership between Jhunjhunwala and Damani is a big surprise," sources said. "If you look at the list of bidders, it appears that competition will only intensify and lenders may not have to take any haircut," the source added.
UltraTech, Heidelberg, the JSW Group, Dalmia Bharat and The Ramco Cements have made proposals on their own or in partnerships to attain the the assets of the firm on the last day of submitting the bids, according to the sources.
The other partnerships for the bid, according to the report, are Dalmia Bharat with Piramal Group's Ajay Piramal, JSW with a private equity firm and Ramco with True North, a private equity fund.
A claim of Rs 3,884 crore has been made by the lenders. This is inclusive of the loans acquired by Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company from banks and dues to State Bank of India, Canara Bank and Bank of Baroda. Binani also faces a claim of Rs 2,429 crore-worth corporate guarantees from IDBI Bank and SBI, which is currently in dispute between the resolution professional and the lenders.
Bank of Baroda referred the debt-ridden firm to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) last year in July. This was after Binani's unlisted subsidiary failed to repay a Rs 97-crore loan to the lender.
The deadline to submit the bids for the firm was extended to January 15 from December 22 2017.
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