INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Mumbai: Lenders are staring at a near complete loss of Rs 1,200 crore loans to power producer Abhijeet MADC as they prepare to liquidate the
company after three attempts to sell it as a viable company failed, said people familiar with the matter.
The so-called slump sale, which
would be at a steep discount to its book value, involves sale of an asset lock, stock and barrel for a lump sum where the value is for real
estate and scrap value for the existing machinery, said those people who did not want to be identified.
“Bids will be invited for the
thermal power plant, inoperative for 6 years, once the valuation reports are received,’’ said Vinod Kothari, the court appointed
liquidator of the company
“Earlier, bids were invited on going concern basis, but the same failed to find any investor interest
Now invitation will be made for sale on a slump sale basis,”
Alchemist Asset Reconstruction Company, Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction and
State Bank of India are likely to be the worst hit as they hold the biggest chunk of the loans to AMADC, company which was a coal-based
It has a capacity of 246 MW thermal plant, along with an additional 25 MW diesel generator.
There is little hope of finding a buyer as the
plant is not in working condition, highlighting the risks of lending to power companies
Unlike a sale of an asset as a going concern there are no values assigned to individual assets and liabilities of a company in a slump
sale.
Lenders fixed the initial reserve price for the plant at Rs 502 crores in 2018 and since no expressions of interest (EoIs) were
received the reserve price was reduced twice further in September 2019 to Rs 402 crore and further to Rs 376 crore in October 2019
Since there has been no interest the liquidator has asked for a fresh valuation on a slump sale basis
The power plant’s woes were compounded also by its potential customer, which is also facing delays.
It was on a built operate and transfer
(BOT) basis for a period of 33 years as a captive plant for the Multimodal International Hub Airport and Special Economic Zone (MIHAN) in
The slump sale will be only for the thermal power plant
Two independent valuers have been appointed and bids could be invited as soon as next week, Kothari said
“There are multiple issues with the project
It was supposed to be a captive plant for MIHAN which itself is struggling
Then there are issues with regards to tariffs in the electricity regulatory commission
The plant itself is not in working condition so chances of any recovery look slim,” said a lender to the project.
