RP schedules second bid for KSK Mahanadi

The resolution professional (RP) for the KSK Mahanadi Power has set April 26 as the date for fresh expressions of interest (EoI) to take over the 1800 MW power plant in a second round of bidding after plans by creditors Power Finance Corp (PFC) and Rural Electrification Corp (REC) to take over the company did not receive government approval.

In a regulatory Form G which sets out the timeline for resolution, RP Suresh Binani has set June 18 as the final date for bidders to give a plan. The company owes creditors ₹32,240 crore out of which more than ₹29,000 crore is owed to financial creditors according to the latest list of creditors updated earlier this month.

The Chhattisgarh-based power producer is a rare operational plant of its size available for a takeover in the country. As a result a half a dozen asset reconstruction companies (ARCs) have accumulated the debt from banks in the hope of finding good value from buyers. Out of the six units of 600 MW coal-based plant planned, three units of 600 MW are operational totalling 1800 MW.

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Aditya Birla ARC is the largest creditor with admitted claims of ₹9,800 crore or 33% of the total debt followed by PFC with about ₹4,400 crore or 15%. REC is the third largest creditor with ₹3,538 crore or 12% of the debt. Another ARC Asrec has also accumulated 12% or ₹3,506 crore of the debt.

“Most banks have sold their debt to ARCs over the years due to the delays in the resolution of this asset because there has been demand from ARCs to accumulate this asset in hopes of a resolution. There are expectations that large power producers will look at this acquisition favourably,” said a person who has tracked this process.

The resolution process for KSK Mahanadi has undergone various twists since being admitted for insolvency in 2019.

In the initial round of bidding in 2021 the company received EoIs from a dozen bidders including large corporate groups like Vedanta, Adani Power, Naveen Jindal’s Jindal Power, Jindal Polymer and also creditors PFC-REC and NTPC.

Lenders had petitioned the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to consolidate the resolution of two other related companies, KSK Mahanadi Water, which operates a water pipeline to the power plant and raw material-carrying Raigarh Champa Rail after bidders had expressed apprehension that buying the power plant without these supporting companies will be of little value. As a result, the court stayed the standalone resolution process of KSK Mahanadi Power in 2022.

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