Suraksha Group Takes Charge: Jaypee Infratech’s New Chapter

Jaypee Infratech Ltd, now under the control of Mumbai-based Suraksha Group, has appointed Devang Pravin Patel as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and will delist its shares from stock exchanges. The appointment is effective from June 8, 2024, according to a recent regulatory filing. Suraksha Group, after receiving approval from the appellate tribunal NCLAT, has taken control of Jaypee Infratech Ltd and will delist it from stock exchanges. The Record Date to determine the shareholders who will receive the exit price for the delisting and subsequent extinguishment of issued equity shares of the company is fixed on June 21, 2024. However, the shares issued to Suraksha Group in terms of the approved resolution plan will not be extinguished. Suraksha Group has infused Rs 125 crore in JIL as part of its resolution plan to settle banks’ dues and complete 20,000 unfinished flats across various projects in Delhi-NCR. Additionally, Mumbai-based Suraksha Group has constituted a three-member board and taken control of JIL earlier this month. This takeover followed the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) decision on May 24, upholding Suraksha Group’s bid to acquire JIL. The NCLAT has directed Suraksha Group to pay an additional Rs 1,334 crore to Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) as farmers’ compensation. Sudhir V Valia, promoter of Suraksha Group, has been appointed as a Non-Executive Director on the JIL board. Aalok Champak Dave has been appointed as Executive Director and Usha Anil Kadam as an independent director. Upholding the National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) decision of March 2023, the NCLAT on May 24 has said the decision was made to avoid any further delay in the implementation of the resolution plan and also to take care of the interests of all stakeholders, including home buyers and the claim of YEIDA for additional compensation for the farmers. The corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against JIL was initiated in August 2017, following an application by the IDBI Bank-led consortium. On March 7 last year, the NCLT approved the Suraksha group’s bid to buy JIL. However, many parties, including YEIDA, filed petitions in the NCLAT to challenge the NCLT order. In its final resolution plan, the Suraksha group offered more than 2,500 acres of land and nearly Rs 1,300 crore to bankers by way of issuing non-convertible debentures and proposed to complete all stalled projects over the next four years. Lenders of Jaypee Infratech had submitted a claim of Rs 9,783 crore. In the fourth round of the bidding process to find a buyer for JIL in 2021, the Suraksha group won the bid with 98.66 per cent votes. As many as 12 banks and more than 20,000 homebuyers had voting rights in the Committee of Creditors (CoC). The company had received 0.12 per cent more votes than state-owned NBCC, which was also in the fray. In the first round of insolvency proceedings in 2018, the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshadweep, part of the Suraksha group, was rejected by the lenders. The CoC had rejected the bids of Suraksha and NBCC in the second round held in May-June 2019. In November 2019, the Supreme Court directed that revised bids be invited only from NBCC and Suraksha. Then, in December 2019, the CoC approved the resolution plan of NBCC during the third round of the bidding process. In March 2020, NBCC received approval from the NCLT to acquire JIL. However, the order was challenged before the NCLAT and later in the Supreme Court. On March 21, 2021, the apex court ordered a fresh round of bidding between NBCC and Suraksha Group only. In this fourth round, Suraksha Group won the bid.