Adani Group’s Rs 12,500 crore bid to acquire KSK Mahanadi Power has prompted other bidders to revise their offers and the final figure could be much higher, sources said on Friday. Full recovery of non-performing assets (NPAs) is expected after the committee of creditors (CoC) of KSK Mahanadi Power initiates a bid challenge mechanism.
Adani Group made the highest bid.
However, this is rare in proceedings conducted under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Sources associated with the IBC system have credited the Adani Group for generating interest in KSK Mahanadi. The Adani Group has placed an initial high bid of Rs 12,500 crore for this troubled company. This bid is Rs 4,800 crore or 62 percent higher than the second-place bidder. As a result, six of the 10 original bidders, including NTPC, have now submitted revised offers around the bid placed by the Adani Group. This reflects strong competition, which will also increase the asset value.
The lenders’ debt will be recovered.
Industry insiders said this reflects the IBC’s emphasis on achieving maximum value. Adani’s competitive bid adds up to about Rs 27,000 crore after adding KSK Mahanadi’s alleged cash reserves of Rs 10,000 crore and trade receivables of Rs 4,000 crore. This means that lenders can recover 92 percent of the outstanding debt. KSK Mahanadi, located in Chhattisgarh, has an installed capacity of 1,800 MW. The project, with a debt burden of about Rs 29,330 crore, was brought into the insolvency resolution process in 2019.
These companies also bid.
Adani Power’s bid of Rs 12,500 crore was the highest offer among competing entities. Big companies like JSW Energy, Jindal Power, Vedanta, NTPC, and Coal India were involved in this process. But their bids were between Rs 6,500 crore and Rs 7,700 crore. After this, the committee of creditors decided to adopt the bid challenge system. Under the new system, the remaining claimants have placed increased bids.