Dalmia vows legal battle for Binani Cement
Bharat Cement Ltd will approach a higher court if the Kolkata bench of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) decides against it in the battle for Binani Cement Ltd, a top company official said.
While Dalmia continues to repose faith in the ongoing legal process, it will challenge any move to wrest control of Binani Cement by rival UltraTech Cement Ltd, the Dalmia Bharat official said on condition of ano- nymity. Dalmia Bharat was declared the highest bidder for Binani Cement by the committee of creditors (CoC) in March beating UltraTech, which bid mar- ginally lower.
Dalmia had agreed to invest about ₹6,700 crore in Binani Cement over a period of time. UltraTech swiftly challenged the decision of the CoC at the Kolkata NCLT, stating lack of transparency in decision-making.
The company also received a nod from the Competition Commission of India to pursue the deal on March 28.
Meanwhile, Binani Industries Ltd, Binani Cement’s parent company, signed a bilateral agreement with UltraTech to sell the company and has approached the NCLT seeking termination of insolvency proceedings against Binani Cement and has offered to settle all its outstanding loans including those of operational creditors and statutory dues.
Responding to a query from Mint on whether Dalmia Cement plans further legal action, Mahendra Singhi, the cement maker’s CEO, said, “One has to follow proper legal processes but we hope that there won’t be any need for it. But if someone wants to further litigate and delay the whole process, it is up to them.”