Numetal says will match Arcelor bid if latter held eligible

New Delhi: Numetal told the Supreme Court on Thursday that it would match any offer made by ArcelorMittal should it be held eligible to bid for ailing Essar Steel in the resolution proceedings pending in the NCLT. “We will match their offer,” senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told the court.

He claimed that the company’s second bid was higher than that of ArcelorMittal.

The top court, however, said that it would refrain from getting into the issue of valuation and instead stick to taking a call on eligibility of who can bid for ailing Essar Steel.

The court then reserved its order on the issue. The court will rule on the eligibility of Arcelor-Mittal to bid for the ailing company as also examine ways and means on how to plug several loopholes in the newly enacted Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The committee of creditors led by Gopal Subramanium on its part told the court that it was against sending the ailing company into liquidation. “It is a valuable company,” he said.

A two-judge bench comprising Justices RF Nariman and Indu Malhotra are hearing an appeal filed by ArcelorMittal against the NCLAT decision to ask the company to pay the Rs 7,000-crore dues of Uttam Galva and KSS Petron before it could be allowed to bid. ArcelorMittal has since told the top court that it would pay the amount.

Both sides have accused the other in court of being ineligible to bid for Essar Steel. ArcelorMittal through senior advocate Harish Salve has accused Numetal of being a front company of the Ruias, a charge Numetal denies. Numetal has insisted through Rohatgi that it has had nothing to do with the Ruias ever since they exited from the consortium. By that corollary, it said that the new entity cannot be asked to pay Rs 42,000 crore odd bad debts of Essar Steel.