In line with its strategy of acquiring companies that specialise in value added steel products, JSW Steel has shown initial interest in the debt-laden Asian Colour Coated Ispat that is currently undergoing insolvency resolution.
The home grown steelmaker submitted an expression of interest (EoI) for the same. Other companies that have lined up for the asset are Liberty House, JM Financial Asset Management, India Resurgence Fund, Aion Investments as well as Kotak Mahindra Bank, a person aware of the developments told ET.
“We have submitted an EoI for Asian Colour Coated Ispat,” a senior JSW official told ET.
“We do not comment on market speculation,” India Resurgence Fund said in an emailed reply to ET’s email seeking comments. Aion Investments and Liberty House did not offer comments. Kuldip Kumar Bassi, the interim resolution professional (IRP) for the asset, also did not comment.
Headquartered in Haryana, Asian Colour Coated Ispat has a 3 lakh tonnes capacity in making cold rolled, galvanised and colour coated steel products that find use in the automobile and engineering sectors as well as in the making of white goods.
Asian Colour Coated Ispat was admitted by the Delhi insolvency tribunal for resolution in July this year and owes Rs 4,957 crore to lenders, as per the admitted claims data available on the company’s website.
In a press meet organised last week by JSW Steel’s joint MD Seshagiri Rao said going forward the company’s acquisition strategy will be to bring more value added steel producing companies within its fold to increase its downstream capacity share to 40% by 2021.
Rao had also said that since the company had had a bad experience with Essar Steel, where a lack of submission of an initial EoI barred the company from bidding later, it has decided to submit EoIs for companies to err on the side of caution.
As part of the same strategy, JSW Steel has also put in EoIs for Uttam Value Steels and Uttam GalvaNSE -0.47 % Metallics, the stressed subsidiaries of Uttam Galva Steels.
Also, Aion Investments, along with JSW Steel acquired another stressed asset under the IBC, Monnet Ispat and Energy, with a bid of Rs 2,875 crore. Liberty House, on the other hand, won bids for Amtek Auto and Adhunik MetaliksNSE -3.70 % and has bid for ABG ShipyardNSE -1.96 % and Bhushan Power and Steel.
Source: Economic Times