All Lavasa suitors raise offers in third round; Valor Estates leads

All three bidders have increased their financial offers for the debt-laden Lavasa Corp in the third round of bidding, intensifying competition for what was initially billed as the first hill town to be built in Independent India.

Valor Estates has substantially upped its bid to Rs 946 crore on a net present value (NPV) basis, putting it ahead of the other two bidders.

The Welspun-Ashdan combine has increased also its bid to Rs 845 crore from Rs 776 crore on a NPV basis earlier which has put the Mumbai based Yogayatan Group at number three on a NPV basis with a total NPV of Rs 830 crore, people familiar with the development said.


Meanwhile, based on the evaluation matrix, Welspun consortium has scored higher than both the other bidders.
"All three bidders substantially increased their bids after they were given another chance. By the looks of it this battle will now continue because bankers will have to thoroughly go through the bids," said a person familiar with the details.

Creditors to the debt-laden Lavasa Corp had extended the timeline for the resolution process, giving bidders another chance to increase their bids for the real estate venture, ET had reported in its August 7 edition. The extension was forced after one of the bidders, Valor Estates, submitted an improved revised plan.

Last week, Mumbai based Yogayatan Group filed a petition in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) opposing creditors’ move to allow revised resolution plans for taking over the debt-laden Lavasa Corp.

Yogayatan was opposed to calling for another round of bids because it had emerged as the highest bidder, with its offer of Rs 795 crore on a NPV basis.

"This time, despite its opposition, Yogayatan submitted a revised bid. It remains to be seen whether it acts on its NCLT plea or prefers to improve its bid further because it does not look like we have seen the last of this story," said another person aware of the details.

Any litigation at this stage is likely to delay the process.

EY-backed resolution professional Udayraj Patwardhan and process advisor BoB Capital Markets did not reply to an email seeking comment.

Process advisor BoB Caps will put the plans through an evaluation matrix which will go beyond NPV and explicitly reward certainty of recovery, upfront cash, execution strength, and risk mitigation.

"The Welspun led consortium could score better because of a higher upfront cash commitment, their scale and financial strength, implementation credibility and institutional backing," said a third person aware of the details.

The Welspun-Ashdan combine also has promised to pay a higher upfront amount of Rs 65 crore compared to Rs 50 crore by the competing Valor bid. These factors are likely to influence creditors' decision.

Creditors are likely to meet later this week to take stock of the plans and decide the way forward.

"The fact that there is pending litigation, bidders are aggressive and lenders want the best value means that this story could be extended now," said the second person aware of the details.