Ashdan properties leads race to acquire Rolta India

"Ashdan had challenged the order in February allowing new bidders time to submit a formal expression of interest. As the hearing at NCLAT was going on, Ashdan upped its offer following which the CoC filed an affidavit in court saying that in the interest of time, no new plans will be entertained. Its plan will be put to vote this week," said a person familiar with the process.

Resolution professional Mamta Binani did not reply to an email seeking comment. To be sure, Ashdan's bid resulted in a mere 6% recovery for all creditors and a 12% recovery for secured creditors led by .

In February, the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had allowed lenders to seek rebids for Rolta following a plea by Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved to make an offer for the company after the deadline for submitting fresh bids lapsed.

Following Patanjali's successful petition, two other bidders - Welspun Group's MGN Agro Properties and Mumbai-based B-Right Real Estate - also received approval from the court to submit bids, ET had reported in its February 23 edition. Patanjali had made a ₹830 crore all-cash offer in late January just days after Ashdan's ₹760 crore bid on a net present value (NPV) basis was declared the highest bidder by banks.

Ashdan, which had emerged as the highest bidder in January, challenged the NCLT directions saying new bids cannot be accepted as its bid was declared the highest after 33 rounds of bidding.

"Neither Patanjali nor the other two applicants who subsequently filed applications were included in the list of prospective resolution applicants (PRAs), hence, there was no occasion to issue direction to the CoC to consider their resolution plan," Ashdan had said in its plea citing Section 39(1)(b) of the code.

Following this plea, the CoC subsequently met on March 7 and after negotiations with Ashdan decided not to go for another round of bidding.

The CoC filed an affidavit to this effect at the NCLAT. Relying on the CoC's affidavit the three-judge appellate tribunal bench led by chairperson Ashok Bhushan set aside the NCLT order allowing rebids. ET has reviewed the order.

Kamal Singh-promoted Rolta is a defence-focused software company that was admitted to bankruptcy in January 2023. It owes banks led by Union Bank of India ₹7,100 crore and ₹6,699 crore to unsecured foreign bondholders led by Citigroup. This is the second attempt to find a buyer for Rolta after the initial process received only one bid in 2022.