Essar Steel bid hots up with Sajjan Jindal taking on ArcelorMittal

Sajjan Jindal says promoters of defaulting firms should not qualify to bid for stressed assets just because they have sold their stakes

JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal on Monday said promoters of defaulting firms should not be allowed to bid for stressed assets merely because they had sold their investments in defaulting entities. Jindal was hinting at ArcelorMittal’s attempt to bid for Essar Steel, a stressed asset.

To qualify as a bidder, ArcelorMittal and its promoter L N Mittal had sold stakes in two defaulting companies, Uttam Galva Steels and KSS Petron. The two companies owe a total of Rs 60 billion to lenders, led by State Bank of India (SBI).

“In the spirit of the law, it is not fair to