UltraTech Cement has increased its offer to acquire debt-laden Binani Cement to Rs 7,990 crore from the earlier Rs 7,266 crore, a financial daily reported.
The Economic Times said the increased bid for Binani Cement will cover the interest on loans forgone by the lenders when the company was admitted to the bankruptcy court.
Citing a bank official, the report said that the offer was attractive, but may not be admissible given it was made after the bidding process ended.
In March, the Committee of Creditors had approved a resolution plan submitted by a consortium of Dalmia Bharat Ltd and Bain-Piramal’s India Resurgence Fund, which had agreed to pay Rs 6,300 crore to Binani’s lenders and for capital infusion into the company.
Last Friday, Binani Industries had withdrawn its petition, which had sought an end to the insolvency proceedings against Binani Cement, from the Supreme Court.
Binani Cement has been undergoing corporate insolvency resolution proceedings initiated by the National Company Law Tribunal since July 2017.
Star Health
ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company is leading the race to acquire Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd in a cash-and-stock deal, ET reported.
The company may be picked up at an enterprise valuation of Rs 6,000 crore.
A consortium comprising WestBridge Capital and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is also in the race for Star Health, besides the joint bid by PremjiInvest and UK-based financial services company Prudential Plc.
Citing one person aware of the development, the report said the management is backing a financial bidder, but ICICI Lombard may still have the edge.
Last November, Star Health had shortlisted 8-10 bids from financial as well as strategic investors to sell its business. The standalone health insurance firm’s promoter, Star Health Investments Pvt. Ltd, along with its investors, had started the process for the company’s sale in early 2017.
Its investors include ICICI Venture, Tata Capital Growth Fund, Sequoia Capital, Oman Insurance Company and Apis Partners.
Star Health commenced its operations in 2006. It offers health insurance, overseas mediclaim policies and personal accident cover. The company’s gross direct written premium was Rs 2,488.17 crore for the nine months ended December 2017.
The Committee of Creditors have rejected the revised offer made by a consortium of Reliance Industries Ltd and JM Financial Asset Reconstruction Company to acquire debt-laden textile company Alok Industries Ltd, ET reported.
The revised all-cash offer of Rs 5,050 crore had received the approval of 70% of the lenders, but fell short of the 75% mark for the proposed offer to go through, the report added.
Alok Industries is undergoing a corporate insolvency resolution process by the NCLT. It is one among the 12 large NPA accounts identified by the RBI for loan resolution under the insolvency and bankruptcy code in its first list.
Clean energy producer ReNew Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd is set to file its draft red herring prospectus for an initial public offering by April-end, Mint reported.
Citing one person aware of the development, the report said that the proposed of $800-900 million IPO comprises a fresh issue and a secondary sale, wherein existing investors could divest a part of their stake.
ReNew has given the mandate to nine investment banks to manage the sale, the report added.
Earlier this month, ReNew Power had agreed to acquire rival Ostro Energy from private equity firm Actis. The transaction will increase the company’s operational and planned capacity to 5.6 gigawatt from the existing 4.5 GW.
ReNew Power was established in 2011 by Sumant Sinha, former executive at wind-turbine maker Suzlon Energy. It has raised $850 million from Goldman Sachs, sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Asian Development Bank, Global Environment Fund and Japan’s Jera Co. Inc. This amount, however, does not include CPPIB’s undiscosed investment in the company, which saw fresh capital infusion besides a secondary stake purchase from the ADB.
