Jaypee Infratech insolvency: NCLT to hear Suraksha group resolution plan on March 7, 9

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will hear on March 7 and March 9 matters related to approval of the Suraksha group’s bid to acquire debt-ridden realty firm Jaypee Infratech Ltd.

In a regulatory filing, Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) said the listing of matter of resolution plan, along with related pleas, is listed for consideration before the National Company Law Tribunal, Principal Bench, New Delhi, on March 7 and March 9.

In June last year, Mumbai-based Suraksha group received the approval of financial creditors and homebuyers to take over the JIL, raising hopes for around 20,000 homebuyers of getting possession of their dream flats.

Suraksha group got the approval of the committee of creditors (CoC) to acquire JIL, after the 10-day-long voting process.
Suraksha group won the bid with 98.66 per cent votes and it got 0.12 per cent more votes than NBCC.
As many as 12 banks and more than 20,000 homebuyers have voting rights in the CoC.

Homebuyers and creditors have 56.63 per cent and 43.25 per cent voting rights, respectively. Fixed deposit holders have 0.13 per cent voting rights.
This is the fourth round of bidding process to find a buyer for JIL, which went into the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) in August 2017. Anuj Jain is JIL’s interim resolution professional (IRP).

Lenders have submitted a claim of Rs 9,783 crore.
In its final resolution plan, Suraksha group had offered to bankers over 2,500 acres of land and nearly Rs 1,300 crore by way of issuing non-convertible debentures.

It has also proposed to complete all pending flats over the next four years.

JIL went into the insolvency process in August 2017 after the NCLT admitted an application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium.
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 had rejected the bids of Suraksha and NBCC in the second round held in May-June 2019.

In November 2019, the Supreme Court directed that the revised bids be invited only from NBCC and Suraksha.
Then, in December 2019, the CoC approved the resolution plan of NBCC with a 97.36 per cent vote in favour during the third round of the bidding process.
In March 2020, NBCC had got approval from the NCLT to acquire JIL.

However, the order was challenged before the NCLAT and later in the Supreme Court.
The apex court on March 24, 2021, ordered for fresh round of bidding between the NBCC and the Suraksha group only.