Adani Group’s bid of Rs 12,500 crore to acquire KSK Mahanadi Power has triggered a competitive response. The rival bidders are revising their offers upward, potentially driving the final sale price higher, reported ‘PTI’ quoting the sources.

After the implementation of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) challenge mechanism, lenders to the distressed power plant now anticipate a complete recovery of their dues from the non-performing asset, something extremely rare in Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) proceedings.

Adani Group’s impressive initial bid of Rs 12,500 crore for KSK Mahanadi Power has sparked renewed interest in the asset, said the report. The bid by Adani Group was 62% or Rs 4,800 crore higher than the second-highest bid, said sources within the IBC framework.

The competitive landscape for KSK Mahanadi Power has intensified, with six of the initial ten bidders, including NTPC, revising their offers upwards to closely match Adani’s bid. This is enhancing the asset’s value. Adani’s competitive bid totals Rs 27,000 crore when combined with KSK Mahanadi’s reported cash reserves of Rs 10,000 crore and trade receivables of Rs 4,000 crore. This could enable lenders to achieve an extraordinary 92% recovery, according to the report.

Adani Group’s Bid For KSK Mahanadi Power – What We Know?

KSK Mahanadi Power, situated in Chhattisgarh, boasts an installed capacity of 1,800 MW. The project, stressed with a substantial debt of Rs 29,330 crore, was admitted into the IBC process in 2019. The bidders for this included industry heavyweights like JSW Energy, Jindal Power Vedanta, NTPC and Coal India with bids previously ranging between Rs 6,500 crore and Rs 7,700 crore. This was significantly lower than Adani’s offer.

Although Adani’s bid is impressive, the CoC initiated a challenge mechanism to foster additional competition. Consequently, the remaining contenders have submitted more substantial and competitive bids.

(With Agency Inputs)

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