Adani Group, Vedanta and Patanjali among 26 in fray to acquire Jaiprakash Associates

New Delhi: Billionaire Gautam Adani’s group, mining mogul Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta, and yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s Patanjali Ayurveda are among the 26 suitors looking to acquire Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL).

Others who showed interest in acquiring JAL, currently under insolvency proceedings initiated to recover defaulted loans, include Ahmedabad-based Torrent Group, Jindal Power, Dalmia Cement, GRM Business, Oberoi Realty and Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd, according to a filing by the company to stock exchanges.

In the filing, JAL, which has business interests spanning real estate, cement manufacturing, hospitality, and engineering & construction, issued the provisional list of eligible Prospective Resolution Applicants (PRAs) under Regulation 36A (10) of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations 2016.

JAL was admitted into the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) through the NCLT, Allahabad Bench, order dated June 3, 2024.

The company was taken to insolvency proceedings after the conglomerate defaulted on payment of loans. Creditors claim a total of a staggering Rs 57,185 crore. The National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) leads the list of claimants after acquiring the stressed JAL loans from a consortium of lenders headed by the SBI.

Those who put in an expression of interest (EoI) include Adani group’s flagship firm Adani Enterprises Ltd, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd, GMR Business & Consultancy LLP, Jaypee Infratech, Jindal India Power Ltd, Jindal Power Ltd, Kotak Alternate Asset Managers Ltd. Oberoi Realty Ltd, Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd, Torrent Power and Vedanta Ltd.

Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd, Authum Investment & Infrastructure Ltd, consortium of Winro Commercial (India) Ltd and Parakh Advisors Private Ltd, Dickey Asset Management Pvt Ltd, India Opportunities XII Investments Pte Ltd, J C Flowers Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd, Jaithari Thermal Power, Oriental Structural Engineers, Paschim Sagar Properties, PNC Infratech, Rashmi Metaliks, Sherisha Technologies, Sigma Corporation and Winchain Infrastructures were the other bidders.