Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Power has decided to drop out of the bidding race to acquire distressed thermal power company Lanco Amarkantak Power, leaving Adani Power and Reliance in the acquisition bid, reported Economic Times.
Previously, Jindal Power bid more than Adani Power to acquire Lanco, but now has backed out of the bidding wars. Now, only three bidders are remaining in the acquisition race – Adani Power, Reliance Industries and Power Finance Corporation-led consortium.
ET reported that Jindal Power applied with Amravati National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to withdraw its petition on Tuesday, despite outbidding Adani Power in the previous session.
“Probably they (Jindal) were not comfortable giving unconditional and upfront offers and thus they pulled out of the race,” a source quoted by ET said.
Now, Adani Power remains the highest bidder in the Lanco Amarkantak Power acquisition race, with both Reliance Industries and Power Finance trailing closely. It must be noted that before backing out, Jindal Power gave ₹4,203 crore cash offer along with a ₹100-crore bank guarantee during the bidding wars.
Meanwhile, Adani Power upped its offer from ₹3650 crore to ₹4100 crore in January. The final auction for the same will take place soon, and both Reliance and PFC-led consortium is expected to participate alongside Adani Power.
About Lanco Amartankat Power
The bidding wars for Lanco Amarkantak Power started when the company said that it is going through corporate insolvency proceedings. The cash-strapped company runs a coal-based thermal power project on the Korba-Champa state highway in Chhattisgarh.
The company runs a coal-fired thermal power project with two subcritical units of 600 MW each, located near Anpara in Uttar Pradesh. The fully-operational first phase of the company has two units of 300 MW each.
Lanco’s second phase is currently under construction, and comprises two units of 600 MW each. Currently, Lanco has ₹1,800 crore cash in the company solely on account of operations from the first phase, said the report.
