With no counter bids, NARCL emerges as a successful bidder to acquire Dharani Sugars.

The government-owned bad debt aggregator NARCL (National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd.) has emerged as a successful bidder for Dharani Sugars & Chemicals Ltd, indicating the prospects of revival for the Chennai-headquartered company.

With no bid from ARCs (asset reconstruction companies) or eligible private lenders as of September 18, NARCL, which offered ₹222.5 crore as the anchor bid for the purchase and acquisition of financial assets of Dharani Sugars, has become a successful bidder, according to industry sources.

A consortium of banks led by Indian Bank (which accounts for 35 per cent of the debt) had placed a ₹619 crore (NCLT-admitted claim) loan for sale at an offer price of ₹222.5 crore and decided to run the Swiss Challenge auction process on the offer received from NARCL on September 18. The financial institutions excluded from the Swiss Challenge process were the Sugar Development Fund, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), and the ECB portion of ICICI Bank.

All ARCs/NBFCs/FIs/Banks are allowed to participate in the process and shall be duly registered under the applicable laws and mandated by RBI, SEBI, and other Regulatory Authority and eligible for purchase of identified stressed asset/ Non-performing Assets (NPAs) of Dharani Sugars. In the case of NBFCs, they should be eligible for the assignment of debt with a valid RBI licence.

HBL