Supreme Court Orders Fresh Bids For Amtek Auto
Lenders have informed the Supreme Court that as many as nine parties were interested in acquiring Amtek Auto.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered fresh bids for insolvent Amtek Auto Ltd., saving the auto components maker from liquidation after no resolution was found within the 270-day deadline as the successful bidder backed out.
The apex court bench, headed by Justice Arun Mishra and comprising Justice Vineet Saran and Justice Ravindra S Bhat, ordered the Committee of Creditors of Amtek Auto to publish advertisements inviting fresh bids. The lenders informed the court that as many as nine parties were interested.
The CoC, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, argued that the new amendments to the insolvency and bankruptcy code allow for another 90-day time period from Aug. 16, 2019, the date on which the amendments came into effect, for completion of resolution process.
Mehta also cited the Essar Steel insolvency case where the top court had exercised its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to allow Arcelor Mittal and Numetal to file fresh bids after holding their already submitted bids to be ineligible. The top court in October 2018 had asked Numetal and Arcelor Mittal to clear their NPA dues in two weeks and file fresh bids in Essar Steel insolvency case.
While the court did not express any final view on the argument of the Solicitor General, it has told the CoC that it has 31 days to seek bids, and the resolution professional will then have to take a call in two weeks. His decision will be placed before the Supreme Court, which will hear the matter on Nov. 5.
The Amtek Auto insolvency case landed in the Supreme Court after the firm’s lenders challenged the decision of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal declining to extend the 270-day deadline under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The NCLAT order would have led to initiation of liquidation at Amtek Auto.
U.K.’s Liberty House Group had emerged as the top bidder for Amtek Auto, which was among the first 12 large non-performing accounts identified for insolvency resolution by the Reserve Bank of India. But the Sanjeev Gupta-led firm backed out and refused to furnish the bank guarantee for the acquisition.