Jaypee Infra buyout race picks up with Adani, NBCC bids

As the May 6 deadline approaches to resolve the Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) insolvency case, the battle to acquire the debt-laden company has become more intense with NBCC submitting a fresh bid on April 24 and the Adani Group also entering the fray. According to sources, the Committee of Creditors (CoC) has asked Adani Infrastructure and Developers to submit their bid by April 24 as the committee would finalise the best bid on April 30. According to sources, after its previous bid scored less than Suraksha, the other bidder, the NBCC board will meet on April 23 and approve a fresh bid before submitting it to the CoC on April 24. In its letter of intent dated April 15, Adani Infrastructure and Developers requested the CoC to allow it to submit its resolution plan by April 27. The company, too, had earlier submitted a failed resolution plan to acquire Jaypee Infratech. "We continue to be interested in participating in the resolution of the corporate debtor and in implementing a turnaround in its business, in the interest of all stakeholders, including homebuyers," it said.

Meanwhile, in a bid to retain the company, JIL`s promoters Jayprakash Associates (JAL) on Friday offered to complete the projects in four years if the homebuyers paid their balance due amounts to Jaypee in a lump sum, which offer the latter are unlikely to accept.

Jaypee Group Chairman Manoj Gaur apologised to the homebuyers for the delay in completing the homes and offered to infuse Rs 1,500 crore and complete the projects, given homebuyers pay a lump sum amount of around Rs 3,400 crore. "To the homebuyers he is saying, I have got Rs 2,700 crore worth of inventory, which I will sell and collect the money. I am expecting Rs 3,400 crore from homebuyers, Rs 1,175 crore from plot buyers. I will collect all this money and I will infuse the shortfall of 1,500 crore and complete and deliver," Sanjeev Sahani, a JIL homebuyer and member of the homebuyers` association told IANS.

"He doesn`t realise that homebuyers will not even pay him Rs 10 more, till the flat is ready for possession," he added.

Although Jayprakash Associate`s resolution bid has not been admitted in the process, but sources said that the lenders have turned in their favour as Gaur has promised there will be "no haircut" in their loan recovery.

Sahani said that both consensus and resolution seem unlikely. "Banks are likely to favour JAL and if put to vote in the current situation, homebuyers will go for NBCC," he said.

In such a situation, homebuyers say the likelihood is that JIL would go for liquidation, and if that happens, the homebuyers would stop paying their EMIs, take control of their flats and complete them.

The realty firm has an outstanding debt of nearly Rs 9,800 crore and over 22,000 of its flats in Noida remain incomplete.

The homebuyers are hoping that the lenders arrive at a consensus by April 30 on which company gets the responsibility of handing over the flats.