Packaging products manufacturer AGI Greenpac has written to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), asking the anti-trust regulator to cancel the green channel approval to Uganda-based Madhvani Group’s Indian entity, Independent Sugar Corporation (INSCO).
The approval was given for the proposed acquisition of insolvent company Hindusthan National Glass & Industries (HNGIL), as per documents accessed by Moneycontrol.
In a representation to CCI dated June 4, Greenpac alleged that the approval did not adhere to the rules prescribed for the so-called combinations.
Green Channel is a specialised fast-track approval route for combinations where certain deals are automatically approved, bypassing the standard review process of CCI.
Green Channel is available only for those combinations which do not have any impact on the competition landscape.
In the letter, Greenpac has alleged that the Green Channel filing rules mandate that all parties should file together for the combination. But in the current case, INSCO unilaterally filed for the combination, violating the competition rules.
“It is respectfully submitted that the approval granted in this case, in violation of Regulation 5A of the Competition Commission of India, has had a serious bearing on the interests of HNGIL and its creditors,” Greenpac said in the representation to CCI.
“In view of the above, the undersigned respectfully urges a timely and considered review of the approval granted to INSCO, in line with the statutory
obligations under Regulation 5A of the Competition Commission of India (procedure in regard to the transaction of business relating to combinations) Regulations, 2011, as well as the guiding principles laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court (SC) in this regard and declare the approval granted to INSCO in Combination...to be void ab initio,” the representation added.
The development assumes significance as AGI Greenpac was the front runner for HGIL acquisition with a bid of Rs 2,752 crore. However, the SC, in January, rejected Greenpac’s bid on the ground that the company did not have a CCI approval for the acquisition.
INSCO had moved the SC, seeking cancellation of AGI Greenpac's bid since the company did not receive CCI approval for the same. The SC ruled in favour of INSCO.
INSCO, the second bidder in the project, subsequently became the front runner for the acquisition. However, INSCO’s bid of Rs 1,850 crore was much lower than that of Greenpac’s bid, and INSCO has been asked to match Greenpac’s bid.
HGIL, India’s largest container glass manufacturer entered into insolvency in October 2021 for default of loans amounting to Rs 3,012 crore. The final resolution of the company is still pending as various legal hurdles delayed the process.
Emails sent to CCI, AGI Greenpac and Madhvani Group (parent of INSCO) remained unanswered at the time of publishing the story. Their responses will be updated once received.
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