This marks a key milestone in one of the longest-running corporate insolvency proceedings of the country.
The five bidders in fray are billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Ltd, billionaire Gautam Adani-led Adani Enterprises, billionaire Naveen Jindal-backed Jindal Power Ltd, Puneet Dalmia’s Dalmia Bharat and PNC Infratech Ltd.
“There are more processes to be followed and approvals to be taken before any acquisition is finalized,” said the first of the two persons cited earlier, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The lenders are expected to seek proof of funds or a letter of comfort from the winning bidder, once the final resolution plan is approved by the CoC, this person told Mint.
A proof of funds is a documentation that verifies the liquid assets the acquirer has to complete a transaction or meet a financial obligation. On the other hand, a letter of comfort is a non-binding document from a third party, like a parent company or auditor, that provides assurance to a lender or investor about a borrower’s ability to meet financial obligations
“For starters, if lenders are convinced about a particular resolution plan, they would seek proof of funding. If not, they could always consider the other proposals on the table,” the person added.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code of India provides for a committee of creditors—a body typically composed of banks, financial institutions, and bondholders that plays a pivotal role in the corporate insolvency resolution process.
Last week, the CoC of the Noida-headquartered company, the flagship of the Jaypee Group, sought submission of signed, non-conditional resolution plans from the five bidders. These will now be evaluated over the next two to four weeks, then put to vote.
One of the bidders said on the condition of anonymity that the plans are “signed or password-protected documents that outline (business) vertical-specific turnaround strategies.” Each proposal, the person said, goes into detail on asset rationalisation, business restructuring, and potential synergy capture, including valuing them depending on business risks.
At one stage, as many as 26 potential bidders had expressed interest in acquiring Jaiprakash Associates’ assets. Since then, it was narrowed down to five.
Mint’s queries to each of the five bidders remained unanswered till press time. Jaiprakash Associates’ resolution professional did not take calls or respond to an email.
Vedanta outbid the other four in the earlier stage, and the final evaluation will depend on a combination of financial and qualitative criteria. “The earlier bidding process was mainly to assess the commercial value of Jaiprakash’s diversified businesses,” said the second person, adding that Vedanta has a “natural edge” now.
All five bidders have already received clearance from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for their respective resolution plans, a prerequisite under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) before a final consideration by the CoC.
Heavy debt and asset spread
Jaiprakash Associates, once a prominent infrastructure and real estate developer, is estimated to owe ₹55,371.21 crore as of September-end 2025, according to its recent stock exchange filing. Most of this debt has already been transferred from a State Bank of India-led consortium to the National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL), the government-backed bad bank set up to consolidate and resolve large stressed loans.
The company’s diversified portfolio spans infrastructure, cement, real estate, power, and hospitality. Its flagship real estate projects include Jaypee Greens and Wishtown in Noida, and the Jaypee Sports City near the upcoming Jewar airport.
In cement, the company operates plants in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with a combined capacity of about 8 million tonnes per annum. It also holds a stake in Jaiprakash Power Ventures, which remains profitable.
However, several land parcels and real estate assets remain mired in litigation, posing potential challenges to asset monetization and valuation.
Advisors and process costs
In a separate stock market disclosure on Wednesday, Jaiprakash said that the CoC had approved the fees for Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, which has been appointed as consultant to determine the liquidation value for each financial creditor. The CoC has classified these fees as “insolvency resolution process costs” under the IBC framework.
Determining liquidation value is a mandatory step before lenders can vote on any resolution plan.
Long road to resolution
Jaiprakash had previously tried to sell the cement arm as a separate business unit to Dalmia Bharat, but the deal fell through as the former went into insolvency. At present, the resolution plans have to be made considering the company as a single business unit.
The acquisition offers both scale and strategic adjacency that include some having interest in power, some in cement and so on. Proximity of its land parcels to the upcoming Jewar airport was touted as major draw. However, the land remains under litigation.
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