Prince Mathews Thomas
Moneycontrol News
A day after reports said that the bids of ArcelorMittal and Numetal Mauritius for Essar Steel have been disqualified, resolution professional Satish Gupta has written to the stakeholders saying that the proposals are still being evaluated.
"Please note that there is no truth in these reports," a source quoted Gupta as saying in the letter. "We along with our Process Advisors, Alvarez & Marsal and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas continue to evaluate the proposals as discussed in terms of RFP (request for proposal) and discussion held in CoC (Committee of Creditors)," the letter said.
Gupta didn't respond to calls.
ArcelorMittal and Numetal had submitted their bids for Essar Steel on February 12. Essar Steel, which has about Rs 50,000 crore in dues to banks, was referred to the National Company Law Tribunal last year.
The issues relate to ArcelorMittal's stake in Uttam Galva, which is also on the defaulter's list. Though the Mittal company has since exited from Uttam Galva, opinion is divided on whether it is now eligible to put in a bid or not.
In the case of Numetal, the issue is around the minority shareholding held by the Ruia family in the joint venture. The Ruias are the promoters of Essar Steel. Rewant Ruia represents the family in Numetal.
The company has maintained that as Rewant doesn't hold any share in the Essar Group and doesn't play a role in the operations; thus Numetal is qualified to make a bid.
Meanwhile, the resolution professional overseeing the auction of Bhushan Power & Steel is today meeting lenders on the bids submitted for the troubled steelmaker. Liberty House had submitted its bid for Bhushan Power & Steel on Tuesday. As of now, Tata Steel and JSW Steel have also put in their proposals.
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