Binani Industries' plea at SC will set a precedent on IBC proceedings

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Friday's hearing of Binani Industries' plea at the Supreme Court will set a precedent in more ways than two.

Binani Industries had approached the apex court, invoking its right to redeem the pledge of its assets in its stressed subsidiary Binani Cement.

If agreed to, this will also help the company terminate the auction of Binani Cements at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

But not everyone agrees, including Dalmia Bharat, which along with UltraTech Cement is in the race for Binani Cement.

According to Dalmia, any agreement outside the court will be against the spirit of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Either ways, a Supreme Court ruling will set a precedent for similar cases at the NCLT. Can an out of court settlement happen when the IBC proceedings are still on?

Meanwhile, Binani's operational creditors, under the banner of The Binani Operational Creditors Forum (BOCF), have also approached the Supreme Court. They want the resolution professional overseeing the Binani Cement auction to keep in mind their interests while finalising a resolution.

The Forum is supporting the proposed deal between Binani and UltraTech.

Twists in the race

The race for Binani Cement has seen innumerable twists.

After the resolution professional and Committee of Creditors chose Dalmia Bharat as the preferred bidder, UltraTech Cement protested that the process lacked transparency.

While the Aditya Birla group company bid Rs 7,266 crore, Dalmia offered Rs 6,700 crore. But the resolution professional ruled that UltraTech's was a revised bid.

Binani Industries later offered lenders to pay off the debt as it had got a "comfort letter" from UltraTech. The letter confirms a line of credit for Binani Industries. In return, UltraTech would acquire 98.43 percent stake in Binani Industries.

Dalmia has protested the move, which it says undermines the IBC proceedings.

"But an individual has the right to redeem his pledge at any time with his lenders. That is a right, and there are past cases that have supported this," said a source close to the development.

Binani's lenders have now backed the company in its move with UltraTech. Contesting that, Dalmia Bharat has written to the Central Vigilance Commission, asking it to look into the "violations of the guidelines."