India

Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. won a four-year battle for control of money from an arbitration award that it says it needs to repay lenders, Bloomberg News reported. A two-judge panel of the Indian Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the 2017 arbitration award in favor of the Anil Ambani’s unit. The arbitration tribunal award is worth over 46.6 billion rupees ($632 million) including interest, according to Reliance Infrastructure’s annual report. Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. won a four-year battle for control of money from an arbitration award that it says it needs to repay lenders.

The pandemic and a shortage of members in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has slowed insolvency resolution by over 45% with cases taking nearly 593 days during the June quarter, latest data showed, the Times of India reported. As of March-end, it took 408 days from the insolvency commencement date to the approval of the resolution. A thrust of the law was to provide for a time-bound resolution — ideally within 180 days, which could be extended by another 90 days.

When Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the $46 billion in revenue Aditya Birla Group, walked into Indian government offices in New Delhi last week with Vodafone Group CEO Nick Read in tow, they had only one mission: to salvage their joint venture Vodafone Idea from imminent financial collapse, Nikkei Asia reported. The meeting was called because Vodafone Idea, the mobile telecom company owned 27.6% by the Birla group and 44.3% by U.K.-listed Vodafone, will require a bailout package from the Indian government and lenders if it is to survive.

India’s Punjab National Bank on Thursday urged a tribunal to quash the rescue plan for defunct debt-laden Jet Airways, alleging irregularities in it, a move that risks delaying any return of the airline grounded two years ago, Reuters reported. A consortium of London-based Kalrock Capital and a UAE-based businessman last year agreed to pump in 10 billion rupees as working capital and give funds to creditors of Jet, which was hit hard due to piling up debt in 2019.

French dairy giant Lactalis is in talks to buy Kwality Dairy (now Kwality) in a fire sale as the company’s creditors have failed to reach a timely agreement on its debt resolution, forcing the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to send it to liquidation, the Economic Times of India reported. Talks between Lactalis and Kwality Dairy’s creditors have gathered steam over the past few weeks and could result in the former making a formal proposal for Kwality Dairy in the next 8-10 days. This could be Lactalis’s fourth acquisition in India, if the creditors agree to its proposal.

India is set to absolve bidders for its loss-making flag carrier from any liability arising out of a lawsuit filed by Cairn Energy Plc, which has claimed the state-run airline’s assets over a long-running tax dispute with the government, Bloomberg News reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration will offer so-called indemnity to the financial bidders of Air India Ltd., which the government has repeatedly tried to sell without success.

he Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has proposed a code of conduct for the committee of creditors and measures to strengthen the regulatory framework for the liquidation process, the Economic Times of India reported. It has sought public comments on discussion papers related to the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).

European technology giant Prosus NV said that it struck a $4.7 billion deal—its largest-ever acquisition—to buy Indian payments platform BillDesk, the latest investor bet that more and more consumers will conduct transactions online, the Wall Street Journal. Amsterdam-listed Prosus, which is majority owned by South African holding company Naspers Ltd., said that its payments and fintech subsidiary PayU will pay 345 billion rupees, equivalent to $4.72 billion, for BillDesk in an all-cash deal. Prosus shares rose 5% Tuesday following the announcement.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has proposed major changes in the insolvency process to bring more discipline and transparency and to address issues that have come up in recent cases, the Times of India reported. The IBBI, which regulates both insolvency professionals and the process, has sought public views on amendments by September 17. A key development is the introduction of a code of conduct for the committee of creditors (CoC) proposed by a parliamentary standing committee headed by Jayant Sinha.

Fugitive Indian businessman Vijay Mallya has filed papers in the UK high court seeking permission to appeal against his bankruptcy order, the Times of India reported. Mallya was declared bankrupt by the insolvency and companies court (ICC) of the high court on July 26 this year. His name is now listed in the individual insolvency register. A spokesman for the chancery division of the high court told TOI that Mallya had on August 16 filed a notice seeking permission to appeal the decision of Chief ICC judge Briggs, who had declared him bankrupt.