Supreme Court rejects Authum’s plea challenging resolution of Srei companies
Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal by non-banking financier Authum Investment and Infrastructure challenging a resolution plan for two Srei companies.
A detailed order in the matter is awaited.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had in August 2023 approved a resolution plan submitted by National Asset Reconstruction Co. Ltd (NARCL) for Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL).
In January, Authum Investment moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal against the NCLT order that rejected its objections to the resolution plan. Authum had then moved the top court.
NARCL had offered a net present value bid of ₹5,555 crore for the two Srei companies, which the lenders approved. Authum with a bid of ₹5,526 crore, and Varde Partners along with Arena Investors with a bid of ₹4,680 crore were the two other bidders.
NARCL completed the acquisition of the two Srei companies in December. “This strategic move sets the stage for the resolution of a significant financial debt amounting to ₹32,700 crore,” NARCL had said in a statement on 8 December.
In October 2021, the Reserve Bank of India had superseded the boards of the two Srei companies citing governance concerns and repayment defaults. The regulator then approached the Kolkata bench of the NCLT to initiate insolvency proceedings.
The tribunal subsequently admitted the companies for insolvency proceedings, appointing former Bank of Baroda chief general manager Rajneesh Sharma as the administrator.
In January, while rejecting Authum Investment’s plea, the appeals court had said, “We do not find any error in the order of the adjudicating authority rejecting the applications.”
The tribunal’s approval of the resolution plan was in the commercial wisdom of the committee of creditors, NCLAT had said, adding that there were no grounds to interfere with the order.
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Published: 07 Mar 2024, 05:13 PM IST
Ganesh
http://ganesh@finplay.inFinance enthusiast, Mutual fund expert.