Binani Industries Moves Supreme Court For Out-Of-Court Settlement With UltraTech

Kolkata: Binani Industries, the parent company of insolvent Binani Cement, on Monday informed the National Company Law Tribunal's Kolkata bench that it has moved the Supreme Court for termination of insolvency proceedings against its cement manufacturing subsidiary.

The company said it had filed the application in the apex court for setting aside the April 5 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which observed that "pendency of the appeal will not come in the way of the Adjudicating Authority to proceed with the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process in accordance with provision of I&B (Insolvency and Bankruptcy) Code, 2016".

"We have pleaded before the Supreme Court for setting aside the NCLAT order. The apex court will hear the case on April 13," counsel representing Binani Industries said.

He said: "Binani Industries will also urge the Supreme Court for the termination of the insolvency proceedings against its subsidiary."

The company had submitted an application to the tribunal to seek termination of insolvency proceedings against its cement manufacturing subsidiary and its counsel had said it could pay all its creditors.

The move came after it concluded a commercial understanding with UltraTech Cement to sell its entire 98.43 per cent stake in the subsidiary at a consideration of Rs 7,266 crore. Later, the offer was reportedly revised upwards.

"We are offering Rs 1,100 crore more to the creditors than that of Dalmia Bharat in the out-of-tribunal settlement. The company is willing to settle with everyone with 120 per cent payment," the company's counsel said in his submission before the tribunal.

Binani Industries spokesperson on Monday said: "The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code is not designed to penalise a promoter and/or shareholder by preventing/prohibiting him/her to make a payment of 100 per cent legitimate dues and become a mute spectator to his/her company being sold at a huge discount, causing financial loss to financial lenders, trade operational creditors, public equity holders etc.

"Keeping this in mind, a borrower always has the right to pay off all dues of all lenders and creditors and redeem the company from all mortgages. Based on this basic principle, the company has appealed to the lenders /COC (Committee of Creditors) for a settlement outside the CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process)." 

During the ongoing insolvency proceedings of Binani Cement, Resolution Professional (RP) Vijaykumar V. Iyer submitted the resolution plan of Dalmia Bharat-controlled Rajputana Properties before the bench as the "highest bidder" to take over the debt-laden company.

UltraTech Cement had informed the stock exchanges that it had obtained the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) approval for its bid for the under-debt company and the company claimed the CCI clearance validates its contention that "they were wrongly and unjustifiably rated H2 instead of H1".

Rejecting this, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited's Group CEO Mahendra Singhi had claimed: "The reasons cited by the unsuccessful bidder for its failed bid, in stock exchange filings and press interviews, are misleading. We have made the highest financial bid and had also obtained the highest score in the evaluation."

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