Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday completed the hearing on multiple applications filed by ArcelorMittal and Numetal, challenging the decision of Essar Steel's resolution professional (RP) to hold their bids ineligible.

The bench, comprising judges Harihar Prakash Chaturvedi and Manorama Kumari, is likely to pronounce its verdict on Thursday.

The counsel for Essar Steel’s resolution professional on Thursday defended the disqualification of Numetal and ArcelorMittal in the first round of bids for the stressed asset, at the Ahmedabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Essar Steel’s resolution professional is Satish Kumar Gupta of Alvarez & Marsal. He is being represented by former advocate general of Maharashtra, Darius Khambatta.

Ahmedabad: The battle for India’s biggest asset under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code intensified with Numetal Mauritius and ArcelorMittal, two of the bidders for Essar Steel Ltd, seeking disqualification of each other before the Ahmedabad bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

Mumbai: Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal’s ArcelorMittal will on Wednesday challenge in court the legitimacy of a bid for Essar Steel India Ltd. by a group led by Russia’s VTB Capital, intensifying the battle for the biggest industry asset yet to be sold under a new bankruptcy law.

New Delhi: Vedanta, ArcleorMittal and Numetal along with JSW on Monday submitted resolution plans for the debt-laden Essar Steel in the second round of bidding, people close to the development said.

JSW has joined hands with the Mauritius-based investment vehicle Numetal for placing its bid.

Upping the ante in the fight for Essar Steel, Numetal is trying to get control of Odisha Slurry Pipeline Infrastructure (OSPIL) by repaying Odisha Slurry’s dues to lenders. OSPIL is strategically important since its pipelines carry iron slurry to feed Essar Steel’s plant and without access to this pipeline, running the plant could be difficult.

The Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday adjourned the hearing on the petitions filed by ArcelorMittal and Numetal challenging the ineligibility of their bids for Essar Steel. The tribunal will now take up the matter on April 4 and has asked Numetal, ArcelorMittal and the resolution professional of Essar Steel to submit additional documents related to this matter by April 2.

ArcelorMittal on Monday moved the Ahmedabad Bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), challenging the decision to declare its bid ineligible and protect its “rights” in the face of the legal move by Numetal, the other bidder for Essar Steel.

Numetal had moved the NCLT on March 20, ahead of the meeting of the Committee of Creditors, to decide on the eligibility of the two bidders for Essar Steel. At the meeting, both ArcelorMittal and Numetal were found to be ineligible.

A day after its bid failed the legal eligibility test, ArcelorMittal, confirmed that it would participate in the rebid for Essar Steel.

“We have not yet received any formal notification from resolution professional. But we can confirm it is our intention to participate in a rebid," read a statement from ArcelorMittal. Sources close to Numetal said it had not heard officially from the resolution professional.

The State Bank of India-led consortium of lenders called for a second round of bidding for Essar Steel on Wednesday. All the six companies that had submitted expressions of interest (EoIs) earlier have to submit their bids by April 2.

Lenders rejected bids by Numetal and ArcelorMittal after both companies failed the legal eligibility test. The legal advisors cited one of the clauses of Section 29A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) for rejecting the bids.

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