Adani Bid Drives Up KSK Mahanadi Power Offers

New Delhi, Oct 25 (PTI) Adani Group's Rs 12,500 crore bid to acquire KSK Mahanadi Power has prompted other bidders to revise their offers upwards, and the final number could be much higher, according to sources.

Following the implementation of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) Challenge Mechanism, lenders to the distressed power plant are now hopeful of a full recovery from the non-performing asset, an extremely rare feat in IBC proceedings.

Sources within the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) framework have credited Adani's initial high bid of Rs 12,500 crore, which was 62 per cent or Rs 4,800 crore higher than the second bidder for reigniting interest in KSK Mahanadi.

Six of the original ten bidders, including NTPC, have now submitted revised offers close to Adani's bid, demonstrating strong competition and driving up the asset's value. This reflects the IBC's emphasis on value maximisation, industry insiders noted.

Adani's competitive bid, which aggregates to Rs 27,000 crore when combined with KSK Mahanadi's reported cash reserves of Rs 10,000 crore and trade receivables worth Rs 4,000 crore, means the lenders could achieve an unprecedented 92 per cent recovery.

Located in Chhattisgarh, KSK Mahanadi has an installed capacity of 1,800 MW. The project, which had accumulated Rs 29,330 crore in debt, was brought into the IBC process in 2019. Adani Power's Rs 12,500 crore bid was the highest offer among competing entities, which included industry heavyweights like JSW Energy, Jindal Power Vedanta, NTPC and Coal India. The other bids had previously ranged between Rs 6,500 crore and Rs 7,700 crore, significantly lower than Adani's offer.

Despite Adani's impressive bid, particularly after its recent acquisitions of Lanco Amarkantak (1,920 MW) and Coastal Energen (1,200 MW) through similar IBC processes, the CoC held a Challenge Mechanism to encourage further competition.

This has resulted in more robust bids from the remaining contenders. Adani's bid for KSK Mahanadi illustrates a critical juncture for the IBC, where corporate influence and the potential for value maximisation converge. While some may view this as a troubling concentration of power, others could argue that it is a necessary evolution in the Indian insolvency landscape.