Binani Cement takeover: UtraTech gets CCI approval, Dalmia Bharat claims highest bid
Kolkata: Amid the ongoing battle for taking over insolvent Binani Cement, UltraTech Cement on Wednesday said it has obtained the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) approval on its bid for the debt-laden company while rival bidder, Dalmia Bharat said the reasons cited by the former for its bid were "misleading".
"A lot of apprehensions were raised by the Resolution Professional about UltraTech obtaining the CCI clearance on its bid for Binani Cement. CCI has today (Wednesday) cleared it. The company was rated the H2 bidder instead of H1 (highest bidder), for this reason," the Aditya Birla group company said in a regulatory filing.
According to it, the CCI clearance validates its contention that "they were wrongly and unjustifiably rated H2 instead of H1".
Rejecting this, Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Limited's Group CEO Mahendra Singhi said: "The reasons cited by the unsuccessful bidder for its failed bid, in stock exchange filings and press interviews, are misleading. We have made the highest financial bid and had also obtained the highest score in the evaluation."
He said the evaluation criteria for the bids was fair and made known to all the bidders before the bids.
"We state emphatically that the likelihood of obtaining the CCI approval by a bidder was not at all a criterion in bid evaluation. In fact, CCI approval was contemplated to be a post NCLT approval step and hence had been made a carved-out condition precedent to the resolution plans of all the resolution applicants," Singhi said.
He also said "the only criteria involving regulatory orders was whether any adverse regulatory order including an adverse CCI order imposing penalties had been passed against the bidder over the last 5 years".
"No evidence has been cited to show that the COC (Committee of Creditors) and its advisors did not make a correct assessment of bids," Singhi said.
During the ongoing insolvency proceedings of Binani Cement, Resolution Professional Vijaykumar V Iyer, submitted the resolution plan of Dalmia Bharat-controlled Rajputana Properties before the Kolkata bench of National Company Law Tribunal as the "highest bidder" to take it over.
Binani Industries, the parent company of insolvent company, had submitted the application before the tribunal seeking termination of insolvency proceedings against its cement manufacturing subsidiary and the company's counsel had said on Tuesday it could pay all its creditors within two weeks.
The move came after the company concluded a commercial understanding with the UltraTech Cement to sell its entire 98.43 per cent stake in its cement manufacturing subsidiary at a consideration of Rs 7,266 crore.
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Shocking tragedy: Kharge on Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi's death
New Delhi (PTI): Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday condoled the death of Iranian President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash and said Indians stand with the people of Iran in this time of grief.
According to state media, Raisi, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and others were found dead at the site of the crash in East Azerbaijan province on Monday after an hours-long search through a foggy and mountainous region.
In a post on X, Kharge said, "The Indian National Congress is anguished and dismayed by the passing away of Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, following the shocking tragedy."
"India-Iran relations span centuries marked by meaningful interactions. Every Indian joins in extending our heartfelt condolences to his family. In this time of grief, we stand with the people of Iran," the Congress president said.
