Amtek auto subsidiary gets two bids

INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MUMBAI : Liberty House and Deccan Value have bid for bankrupt Castex Technologies, a subsidiary of Amtek Auto, with both offering about 20
per cent of overdues, said two senior bank officials who did not want to be identified. “We have received two binding bids and both the
offers are in the range of Rs 1,400 crore to Rs 1,500 crore,” said a senior person who did not wish to be named
“By the end of this month, the resolution professional will decide the eligibility of the two candidates and advise lenders which offer is
better for them,” he said. If the offer is accepted by the lenders, it will mean that they will have to forgo 80 per cent of the loan
amount
“Lenders will negotiate for a higher price,” said the bankers
Castex Technologies is facing Rs 7,391-crore claim from financial creditors and Rs 53 crore from operational creditors
Earlier this week, Sundaresh Bhat, the resolution professional of ABG Shipyard, had declared that a bid from Liberty House was ineligible
under Section 29(A) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Court, implying that they have been classified as defaulter by some Indian
lenders. Close to 98 per cent of the lenders have voted in favour of Liberty House for Amtex Auto a month ago
“The RP, Dinkar Venkatasubramanian, will therefore have to decide on the eligibility of Liberty House before arriving at the highest
bidder,” said a bank official
Venkatasubramanian is the RP for Amtek Auto
SBI has the highest exposure of Rs 1,321 crore in Castex, implying 17 per cent share of the loan, and will be very critical in deciding the
fate of the company
Castex Technologies, a casting component manufacturer for the automotive sector, was admitted for corporate insolvency resolution on
December 20, 2017
Amtek Auto and three of its subsidiaries -- Castex Tehnologies, Metalyst Forgings and ARGL -- are facing insolvency proceedings, and they
have combined overdues in the range of Rs 23,000 crore. Amtek Auto is among the first list of 12 companies that the Reserve Bank of India
had directed banks in June last year to refer to the National Company Law Tribunal.