NEW DELHI: The Chennai bench of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has stayed the NCLT order approving the resolution plan of the consortium of Dickey Alternative Investment Trust (DAIT) and Adani Power for acquisition of assets of Chennai-based power generation company Coastal Energen. The appellate tribunal has ordered a status quo until next hearing on September 18.
Earlier, on August 30, 2024, the Chennai bench of the NCLT had approved a resolution submitted by the consortium for a sum of Rs 3,500 crore. The NCLT order was challenged by ex-promoter AR Buhari, who has alleged ‘glaring irregularities’ in the way the resolution plan was approved by the lenders.
The promoter of the power company has contended that Adani Power piggy-backed DAIT to get a back-door entry into the bidding process after Adani’s expression of interest (EoI) was rejected by the resolution professional (RP) for delayed submission.
Appeals have been filed by Precious Energy Holdings & Mutiara Energy Holdings, the original promoters of Coastal Energen. Adani Power initially faced setbacks in the bidding process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) during Coastal Energen’s insolvency proceedings.
After a late EoI was rejected, Adani Power formed a partnership with DAIT to re-enter the fray. However, DAIT didn’t meet the minimum financial and experience requirements stipulated in the bidding documents, raising compliance concerns and casting doubts on the transparency of their bid.