Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The battle for debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), commonly known as the Jaypee Group, ended in intense drama last week, with mining mogul Vedanta Ltd — a surprise contender in the fray — edging out Adani Enterprises in a thrilling contest. Vedanta’s winning bid, with a net present value of ₹12,505 crore, outpaced Adani’s offer by ₹200-250 crore, clinching one of India’s most closely-watched corporate duels, sources in the know said, reports Businessline.
In bidding parlance, net present value represents the project’s current worth based on its future cash flows, discounted back to the present day.
As per sources, Vedanta‘s bid, for which it was declared the H1 bidder, includes a part of the upfront payment in cash, and the remaining is spread across equated instalments.
The Noida-based Jaypee Group is the second largest corporate insolvency case in the country.
Jaiprakash Associates was to be sold as a single business unit that included a variety of high-end assets like cement, power and real estate. It also included hospitality businesses and land parcels, although the latter continues to be under litigation.
Jaiprakash Associates’ resolution professional was not available for comments.
The challenge process, also called the Swiss Challenge mechanism, began on September 5 with five contenders: Adani, Vedanta, Puneet Dalmia’s Dalmia Bharat, Naveen Jindal’s Jindal Power and infra-company, PNC Infratech.
The e-mailed bidding that began in the morning was supposed to have at least six rounds. Bids were to be revised by ₹200-250 crore after every round.
Dalmia Bharat and Adani Enterprises were seen as the early front-runners. Followed by Vedanta, Jindal Power and PNC Infratech.
However, after the first two rounds, Dalmia, Jindal and PNC Infratech either withdrew or were outbid, setting the stage for a head-to-head Adani-Vedanta clash.
Both Adani and Vedanta kept sweetening their offers, raising valuations. The floor price had initially been fixed at around ₹12,000 crore, sources in the know said.
The winning bid emerged in the fifth round with Vedanta outbidding Adani. “The difference is in the range of ₹200-250 crore,” a source said.
Vedanta is yet to respond to queries, while Adani Enterprises were not available for comments.
The deal, as and when it goes through, will give Vedanta control over Jaiprakash Associates’ cement plants (10 mtpa capacity), captive power units, limestone reserves and real estate portfolio — assets that could reshape the conglomerate’s future and diversify its portfolio beyond metals and energy.