MUMBAI: ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, has completed its Rs 2,350-crore acquisition of Odisha Slurry Pipeline Infrastructure after paying lenders the full principal amount, securing a crucial asset for its newly acquired 10-MTPA Essar Steel plant in Hazira.
Lenders received the payment last week ensuring recovery of loans that were due for more than five years.
"All financial creditors have received their full principal amounts last week, which means we have managed a large recovery during this lockdown," said RK Bansal, CEO of Edelweiss ARC, which owned 8% of the debt.
Odisha Slurry runs a 253-km long pipeline supplying iron ore from mines to the Hazira plant, which was acquired by the ArcelorMittal-Nippon Steel combine through an insolvency process from the Essar Group last year.
In March, the NCLT had approved the ArcelorMittal resolution plan after a committee of creditors (CoC) led by IDBI Bank NSE 0.14 % unanimously voted in its favour.
However, India Growth Opportunities Fund (IGOF), an arm of Srei Infrastructure Finance that owns 69% stake in Odisha Slurry, has opposed the deal in the National Company Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) because it is not happy with the recovery amount. That case is still being heard.