Adani Group mulls bidding for Anil Ambani's bankrupt coal plants: Report

Gautam Adani-ledAdani Group is planning to bid for Anil Ambani's coal-fired power plants that are currently being auctioned by a bankruptcy court, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. However, the report said that Adani may face intense competition for Vidarbha Industries Power Ltd (VIPL), which operates 600-megawatt generation facilities in central India. Ambani's Reliance Power Ltd is also considering making an offer for the asset in an attempt to win back control of the firm, according to the report.

Last month, lenders of VIPL, a subsidiary of Reliance Power, appointed SBI Caps as an advisor for its debt resolution process, the news agency PTI reported. As per the terms of reference, SBI Caps will invite bids for the sale or one-time settlement (OTS) of VIPL debt. It will also lay down evaluation criteria and recommendations for the anchor bidder.

SBI Caps will follow a fair and transparent process to ensure the resolution of VIPL's over Rs 2,000 crore outstanding debt, the report said citing a source. The responsibility of conducting the Swiss Challenge process to maximise the recovery for lenders will also lie with SBI Caps.

The deadline to complete the resolution process by SBI Caps is September 30. The terms of reference say that SBI Caps, while executing the process, will ensure compliance with the RBI guidelines of June 8, 2023, for the sale of VIPL debt and OTS. The report further said that the appointment of SBI Caps came at a time when VIPL lenders had received three suo moto bids for the sale and OTS of VIPL debt.

Reliance Power, the promoter of VIPL, has made an OTS offer to the lenders of VIPL. Reliance Power's all-cash offer of Rs 1,260 crore is supported by the Varde Partners of Singapore. Ahmedabad-based CFM Asset Reconstruction and NARCL are the other two bidders in the fray.

(With inputs from PTI)