Thapar Group’s BILT in bankruptcy court

Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT) the flagship paper-manufacturing company of the Thapar Group, has been taken to the bankruptcy court by lenders led by nonbanking finance company Finquest Financial Solutions.

A two-judge Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) last week admitted Finquest’s petition. According to lenders, BILT owes them about Rs 2,000 crore. Finquest, which had bought Rs 56 crore of BILT loans from State Bank of India in December 2018 and had also given some more funds to the company, has claimed its exposure at Rs 200 crore.

“This order now means that corporate insolvency resolution process can begin. The committee of creditors will soon meet to take stock of the situation,” a senior Finquest executive said.


IDBI Bank has the largest exposure to the company with Rs 400 crore of loans outstanding. Other creditors include ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Suraksha Asset Reconstruction Company.

Shares of BILT closed at Rs 0.51 on the BSE Wednesday.

Another company from the Gautam Thapar-led group, CG Power, is facing investigation over fraud.