The insolvency resolution professional of debt-laden Orchid Pharma Ltd has again invited expressions of interest from potential investors, setting the stage for a new process to buy the beleaguered drugmaker.
The move comes after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) last week annulled an approved resolution plan by the US-based lngen Capital Group.
The last date for submitting the expressions of interest is March 19, Orchid Pharma said in a stock-exchange filing.
Sripatham Venkatasubramanian Ramkumar, the resolution professional who had sought going in for a fresh bid process, had informed the NCLT in February that he had received emails regarding Orchid from Divis’ Laboratories, Gland Celsus Biochemicals and Fidelity Trading Corporation.
According to media reports, Ramkumar had also said that he had received oral enquiries from ART Capital, Everstone Group, AION Capital, Piramal Capital and Finquest group.
The NCLT order in November had come after Ingen Capital failed to infuse the promised money, even after the stipulated time and despite the bench giving it an option to deposit upfront Rs 1,000 crore and later about one-third of the planned resolution amount, towards financial creditors.
Ingen had to pay the amount in 30 days and settle the amount due to banks by that time, but it failed to do so.
After the annulment of lngen Capital’s resolution plan, the NCLT provided 105 days to resolve the matter after excluding the time the company lost from the first bidding process, Orchid Pharma said.
The previous resolution plan by Ingen Capital was for Rs 1,490 crore and was approved by the NCLT in September 2018. Orchid Pharma owes 24 banks more than Rs 3,200 crore.
Orchid Pharma is among the 28 large corporate defaulters in the Reserve Bank of India’s second list of debt-laden companies that were referred to the NCLT. It was admitted in the Chennai bench of the NCLT in August 2017.
