India

The committee of creditors tasked with the resolution process of Essar Steel Ltd. has picked ArcelorMittal as H1 Resolution Applicant, or preferred bidder, for the insolvent asset, Bloomberg Quint reported. The final bid price will be negotiated over the weeks to come, the Luxembourg-based company said in a statement. This comes two weeks after the Supreme Court directed both Numetal Mauritius and ArcelorMittal to pay up past debts to be eligible to bid for insolvent Essar Steel Ltd. Of the two, only one met the Supreme Court directive—ArcelorMittal.

A high-level panel is likely to recommend a United Nations model for cross-border insolvency cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, according to a senior official, The Economic Times reported. The Insolvency Law Committee (ILC) is looking into the discussion paper related to having the UN model for cross-border insolvency matters as well as the comments received on the paper. Under the Code, there are provisions to deal with cross-border insolvency matters.

India stocks fell as concern resurfaced over tight liquidity impacting the financial sector, adding to worries about surging oil prices and global trade conflicts, Bloomberg News reported. The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex index fell 1.1 percent to 34,779.58 in Mumbai, snapping three straight sessions of gains. It had climbed as much as 1.3 percent earlier in the session. Seventeen of 19 sector sub-gauges compiled by BSE Ltd. declined, led by realty and auto companies. Yes Bank Ltd. and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone were the worst performers on the gauge. Infosys Ltd.

Jindal Stainless Ltd., part of billionaire Savitri Jindal’s steel and power conglomerate, expects to leave behind its debt troubles by March, allowing it to boost its capacity by half over the following two years, Bloomberg News reported. India’s dominant stainless steel producer had been forced into a central bank-mandated restructuring after its debts piled up.

ArcelorMittal SA said on Wednesday it would pay 74.69 billion rupees ($1.01 billion) to creditors of two Indian companies in which it previously held stakes, in order to make its acquisition offer valid for Essar Steel, another debt-ridden Indian steel firm, Reuters reported. ArcelorMittal will clear overdue debt of steel firm Uttam Galva Steels and oil and gas pipeline construction services provider KSS Petron, two companies in which the world’s largest steelmaker held stakes until earlier this year.

India’s Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) said the country’s appellate company law tribunal has passed an interim order granting a moratorium on all creditor actions against the company and its units, providing some relief to the debt-laden firm, Reuters reported. The move will preserve the value of the group’s assets and also help the new IL&FS board in its effort to evaluate and prepare a resolution plan, IL&FS said in a statement on Monday.

KKR & Co is seeking to acquire assets from stressed Indian shadow lenders, as it tries to take advantage of the market disruption after a rare money market default by Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd., Bloomberg News reported. The private equity firm’s two Indian credit units may spend as much as 20 billion rupees ($270 million) combined to purchase portfolios from local non-banking finance companies, Sanjay Nayar, KKR’s India chief executive officer, said in an phone interview Friday. KKR is also seeking outright acquisitions of Indian non-bank lenders and

The bankruptcy court has decided to entertain a plea by Videocon Group founder Venugopal Dhoot seeking to consolidate separate insolvency proceedings initiated by lenders led by State Bank of India against 15 of his companies under a single court, the Economic Times reported. National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) principal bench in New Delhi on Thursday admitted Dhoot’s plea and sought a reply from SBI by October 24. The country’s top bank and other lenders had filed separate proceedings against Videocon companies in different courts during June-September to recover Rs 2