Binani’s Repayment Proposal Incomplete, Lenders Tell NCLT

The decision on an out-of-court settlement between Binani Cement Ltd. and the committee of creditors was put on hold today after lenders said the debt-laden company failed to provide a detailed repayment plan.

A two-judge bench at the National Company Law Tribunal in Kolkata adjourned the hearing to April 9 after the lawyer representing the lenders' panel said the company had not submitted details of the repayment proposal. Besides, lenders were unable to obtain the NCLT order on the out-of-court settlement due to public holidays, the lawyer informed the tribunal.

The NCLT on March 27 had suggested an out-of-court settlement between Binani Cement and its creditors, after parent Binani Industries Ltd. sought termination of the insolvency proceedings against its cement arm following a separate deal with UltraTech Cement Ltd. According to the agreement, Binani would sell its 98.43 percent shareholding in the cement business to the Aditya Birla Group company for Rs 7,266 crore. This deal was determined outside the ongoing resolution process in which Dalmia Bharat Ltd.-led consortium was selected as winning bidder by the CoC. UltraTech too had submitted its bid for Binani Cement as part of the insolvency proceedings but was unsuccessful.

The agreement with UltraTech provided Binani Cement's six lenders – including five public sector banks and one asset reconstruction company – the prospect of bettering the debt recovery deal for the insolvent company.

During the previous hearing, Binani Industries had informed the NCLT that it has found the means to pay all the creditors and can make the payment before April 10.

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