More bidders are queueing up for the debt-laden Rolta India after the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) allowed Patanjali Ayurved to submit a late bid for the company.
Welspun Group’s MGN Agro Properties and Mumbai-based B-Right Real Estate have successfully petitioned the NCLT to also submit bids. In fact, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT gave all new bidders time till February 25 to submit a formal expression of interest.
Three other entities Ahmedabad-based Rare ARC, Tamil Nadu-based Sherisha Technologies and Pune-based Mantra Properties have also expressed interest in bidding for the company, people familiar with the information said.
A senior Rare ARC official confirmed that the company is interested in submitting a bid. Welspun did not reply to an email seeking comment. Not all applicants could be immediately reached. Resolution professional Mamta Binani did not reply to an email seeking comment.
“After the NCLT order allowing Patanjali to make a bid, there has been a surge in interest. Mostly bidders are eyeing Rolta’s real estate assets in Mumbai. The company also has ₹200 crore of cash and insurance claims of ₹160 crore. Though not much is known about the value of Rolta’s software assets, the fact is it was a listed IT company so there could be some value there too,” said a person aware of the details.
The company has three buildings in Mumbai’s SEEPZ area and also has a land parcel in Kolkata and a few flats in Mumbai. “The value pegged for all these properties a few months ago is just about ₹1,200 crore which is what everyone is eyeing,” said the person cited above.
Last week ET reported that the NCLT had allowed Patanjali Ayurved to make an offer for Rolta despite its offer coming after the deadline for receiving these bids.
Patanjali had made an unsolicited all-cash offer of ₹830 crore just days after Pune-based Ashdan Properties’ ₹760 crore offer on a net present value (NPV) basis was declared the highest bidder by banks.
MGN Agro and B-Right had petitioned the court seeking the option to bid for Rolta like Patanjali. In a three-page order, the NCLT allowed other new applicants to also participate in the bidding.
Though applicants have to make known their intention by February 25, creditors depending on the situation can extend the timeline by 15 more days, the order said.
Applicants will be given access to a data room following which formal resolution plans will be called for.
Rolta, a defence-focused software company was admitted to the bankruptcy process in January 2023. It owes a consortium of banks led by Union Bank of India (UBI) ₹7,100 crore and another ₹6,699 crore to unsecured foreign bondholders led by Citigroup, with a total debt of close to ₹14,000 crore.
To be sure, even Patanjali’s offer which is the best on the table right now envisages a 12% recovery for secured creditors and a 6% recovery on the company’s total debt.
