Displaying items by tag: National Company Law Appellate Tribunal

India: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has declined to stay insolvency proceedings against Jaiprakash Associates, following a challenge by its board. The board has been suspended since the NCLAT admitted an insolvency plea against the company on 3 June 2024. Press Trust of India News has reported that ICICI Bank first initiated proceedings over outstanding debts in September 2018.

The board of Jaiprakash Associates submitted that it will remain ‘asset-rich,’ even after it sells cement plants to repay loans. It attributed its present ‘liquidity crunch’ to delayed government approvals, ‘prolonged’ litigation and policy changes. The NCLAT stated that it must admit insolvency pleas in cases of defaulted debt repayment, saying that a judicial resolution will prevent further depletion of Jaiprakash Associates’ assets.

India: ICICI Bank has asked the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to speed up an insolvency petition against Jaiprakash Associates. It said that there had been no progress on the plea since September 2019, according to the Hindu newspaper. The private bank alleges that the subsidiary of Jaypee Group has delayed the petition through adjournments of the process. It owes the bank around US$185m.

Jaiprakash Associates sold six integrated cement plants and five grinding plants to UltraTech Cement for US$2.5bn in 2017. It was reportedly in talks with LafargeHolcim’s subsidiary ACC in mid-2018 to sell its remaining cement business.

India: The Builders Association of India (BAI) has called for the creation of a regulatory body to control the price of cement. Sachin Chandra, the president of BAI, called on the newly elected Indian government to set up the organisation, according to the Hindu newspaper. He alleged that the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices (MRTP), the Competition Commission of India and the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal had ‘repeatedly’ found evidence of anti-competitive behaviour in the cement industry.

India: The Supreme Court has dismissed a request by Rajputana Properties, a subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat, to review to decision to dismiss a plea challenging the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) order allowing UltraTech Cement to acquire Binani Cement, according to the Financial Express newspaper. UltraTech Cement declared that Binani Cement was its subsidiary in November 2018 following a protracted legal battle with Dalmia Bharat. It changed its name to UltraTech Nathdwara Cement in December 2018.

India: UltraTech Cement has renamed its Binani Cement subsidiary UltraTech Nathdwara Cement. The leading Indian cement producer finally acquired Binani Cement in late November 2018 when the Supreme Court supported the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal’s (NCLAT) approval of its bid for Binani Cement following a legal fight with a consortium led by Dalmia Bharat group.

Binani Cement’s production assets include a 4.85Mt/yr integrated plant at Nathdwara and a 1.4Mt/yr grinding plant at Neem ka Thana, both in Rajasthan. The company also operates plants in China and the UAE. UltraTech Cement’s acquisition will increase its production capacity in the north of the country to around 24Mt/yr, increase its access to limestone reserves and offer it synergies in logistics and procurement.

India: The Supreme Court has upheld a decision by the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to approve a revised US$1.11bn bid for Binani Cement. The court rejected a challenge by Rajputana Properties, a subsidiary of rival bidder Dalmia Bharat group, according to the Hindu newspaper. UltraTech Cement made a direct bid for the bankrupt Binani Cement following an auction in March 2018 that was originally won by Dalmia Bharat. Dalmia Bharat disputed UltraTech Cement’s offer and the two companies have conducted legal campaigns to reinforce their respective claims.

India: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has approved a revised bid by UltraTech Cement for Binani Cement. The tribunal approved UltraTech’s resolution plan and said that the plan submitted by Rajputana Properties, a subsidiary of rival bidder Dalmia Bharat group, was ‘discriminatory’ against some financial creditors, according to the Press Trust of India. In July 2018 the Supreme Court transferred all matters related to corporate insolvency resolution process of Binani Cement to the NCLAT Kolkata.

India: The Supreme Court has agreed to examine a plea by cement producers about a charge of cartel-like behaviour made by real estate developers and upheld by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). However, the court has insisted that the payment schedule of the fine imposed will have to be upheld while the appeal proceeds, according to the Economic Times newspaper. The accused cement producers have been ordered to deposit 10% of the fine.

10 cement companies – including India Cements, Ramco Cements, Nuvoco Vistas Corporation, Ambuja Cement, ACC, Jaiprakash Associates, Century Textiles and Industries and UltraTech Cement – were accused by the Builders' Association of India and the CCI in 2010 of cartel-like behaviour. They were then fined US$905m or 0.5% of their net turnover. The producers first tried to appeal with the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) but the tribunal dismissed their plea against the CCI finding in late July 2018.

India: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has dismissed an appeal by cement producers against a US$975m fine for alleged cartel-like behaviour. The Competition Commission of India penalised 11 cement companies in August 2016, according to the Press Trust of India. The companies included UltraTech Cement, ACC, Ambuja, Ramco and JK Cement and the Cement Manufacturers’ Association (CMA). UltraTech Cement has been fined US$171m, the highest amount in the group.

India: The Supreme Court has ordered the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) to adjudicate upon all issues relating to the Binani Cement insolvency case, including whether Ultratech Cement’s bid for the company is eligible. The case will be heard by the appeals tribunal from mid-July 2018, according to the Mint newspaper. The NCLAT is the body that processes appeals from the National Company Law Tribunal, a legal body that adjudicates disputes between companies.

UltraTech Cement made a direct bid of US$1.12bn for the bankrupt Binani Cement following an auction in March 2018 that was originally won by Dalmia Bharat. Dalmia Bharat has disputed UltraTech Cement’s offer and the two companies have conducted legal campaigns to reinforce their respective claims.