Adani Group’s proposal to buy debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates gets CCI’s approval

New Delhi: Fair trade regulator CCI on Tuesday said it has in principle approved Adani Group’s acquisition of debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates, should it win a bid in the ongoing insolvency proceeding.

The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of up to 100 per cent shareholding of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) by Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL) and Adani Infrastructure and Developers Pvt Ltd (AIDPL) or any other entity forming part of Adani Group, according to a release issued by the regulator on Tuesday.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said it has approved the acquisition of JAL by Adani Group entities.

Following a recent ruling by the Supreme Court related to interpreting provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), an approval from the competition watchdog is mandatory for submission of a resolution plan by the entity concerned.

The entity has to get the CCI nod before the resolution plan is voted upon by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) of the company undergoing the resolution process under the IBC.

The CoC of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) is still reviewing the resolution plans received, and the voting will happen in due course.

Apart from Adani Group, Dalmia Bharat’s proposal for JAL has been cleared by the regulator.

Various other companies, including Vedanta Group, Jindal Power and PNC Infratech, have also approached the CCI seeking nod to submit respective resolution plans to the CoC of JAL.

JAL was admitted into the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) through the National Company Law Tribunal, Allahabad Bench, order dated June 3, 2024. It was taken to insolvency proceedings after the conglomerate defaulted on the payment of loans.

Creditors are claiming a staggering Rs 57,185 crore.

The National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) leads the list of claimants after acquiring the stressed JAL loans from a consortium of lenders headed by the SBI.