Six companies including Vedanta, Jindal Power and an arm of JSW Energy are in the race to acquire Athena Demwe Power, which owns the 1,750-MW Lower Demwe hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh, through the insolvency resolution process, people in the know said. Greenko Energies, THDC India, which is owned by state-owned NTPC, and Orissa Metaliks are the other bidders, they said.
“These companies have been recognised as prospective resolution applicants (PRAs) so far,” one of the sources said. “The eligibility of the PRAs has to be checked based on eligibility criteria as fixed by the CoC (committee of creditors),” the person added.
The Lower Demwe project on the Lohit River is perceived to be of great strategic and national importance. It was granted environmental clearance in 2010 but was delayed due to pending forest clearances.
Email queries to the resolution professional (RP) of Athena Demwe and the six prospective resolution applicants remained unanswered till press time Thursday.
Currently, the company has admitted liabilities of over ₹567 crore.
Athena Demwe was admitted for insolvency resolution process in 2017 and the CoC even accepted a revival plan submitted by Sikkim Power Investment Corporation. However, when the plan came for the approval of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the resolution professional and lenders said the winning bidder failed to furnish required bank guarantee.
The tribunal, in April, directed the RP and lenders of Athena Demwe to invite fresh resolution plans while extending the period of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) for 120 days.
Sikkim Power Investment challenged the order before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).
The appellate tribunal on July 26 dismissed the appeal, but granted Sikkim Power Investment two weeks to submit a fresh revival plan that the Athena Demwe RP and CoC may consider along with the other bids. Under the insolvency process, once the PRAs are declared, the resolution professional shares with them the information memorandum and request for resolution plan (RFRP), and provides them access to the data room (if any), legal experts said.
“Based on this information, the applicants will submit their plans which will be placed before the CoC for approval,” explained Ashish Pyasi, partner at Aendri Legal.
