India: National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) of Kolkata has asked Binani Cement to consider taking an out-of-court offer between the cement producer and its lenders. The NCLT has asked the committee of creditors (COC) to take up a proposal by Binani Industries, the parent of Binani Cement, to pay off all lenders' dues for 'appropriate consideration', according to the Economic Times. Binani Industries had approached the NCLT, seeking to stop insolvency proceedings after getting a ‘letter of comfort’ from UltraTech Cement, which proposed to pay US$1.11bn to help Binani pay off its debts and buy a 98.43% stake in the company.
The decision appears to pave the way for UltraTech Cement to win the on-going fight for control of Binani Cement. A consortium led by Dalmia Bharat won an auction for Binani Cement with a bid of US$974m in early March 2018. UltraTech Cement then made its direct bid to Binani Cement a few weeks later.