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Singapore’s Vantage Point Asset Management has emerged as the highest bidder for bankrupt SKS Power Generation (Chhattisgarh) by offering Rs 1,800 crore. Ahmedabad-based Torrent, came a close second with a difference of just Rs 7 crore from Vantage’s offer, said a banking source.
Nagpur-based Sarda Energy and Jindal Power, which is owned by Naveen Jindal, also made good offers, the source said.
SKS Power’s committee of creditors (CoC) is evaluating the offers and will vote on bids soon. SKS owns a 600-mw power plant in Chhattisgarh that is now run by state-owned NTPC, which didn’t make an aggressive bid for the company.
Reliance Industries and the Adani Group, India's two largest companies, did not make aggressive offers either, the source said. Adani and Reliance competed for Lanco Amarkantak power project in Chhattisgarh, but lost the race to government-owned REC.
Business Standard didn’t get a response to an email it sent to Vantage Point. Torrent declined to comment. One bidder said there are not many coal-based projects that are up for sale now under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and SKS, with its own supply, is an attractive buy. The lenders will not take a huge haircut in the case of SKS Power.
The company was sent to bankruptcy court after it defaulted on loans worth Rs 1890 crore to State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda. Hong Kong-based Agritrade Resources bought the plant from Indian lenders in November 2018 in a one-time settlement. Agritrade itself fell into financial problems and could not service the loan.
SKS Power was set up by Anil Gupta of SKS Ispat.
