Government-backed National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) will reportedly take control of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) after no competing bids emerged for its Rs 12,000 crore bid.

Process adviser IDBI Capital Markets & Securities (ICMS), which had extended the bid deadline by a week to January 14, did not receive a reply, sealing NARCL’s position as the sole bidder, according to various reports from newspapers

JAL, a Noida-based conglomerate, owes Rs 57,177 crore to creditors, including Rs 15,465 crore to State Bank of India and Rs 10,443 crore to ICICI Bank. NARCL’s offering gives lenders a 23% recovery, which includes 15% cash and 85% government-guaranteed security receipts, a structure unique to NARCL. The acquisition, once completed, will be the largest in NARCL’s portfolio, a critical move to boost its performance after a sluggish fiscal.

Earlier this month, nearly a dozen entities expressed interest in JAL’s assets, but none matched or surpassed NARCL’s bid. “It was decided that there is no point in extending the deadline as no serious bids are expected,” said a person familiar with the process. Formal delivery is expected to conclude in March, allowing lenders to record recovery in the current fiscal year.

JAL, one of the largest unresolved insolvency cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), entered bankruptcy proceedings in 2017 following the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India. Legal battles have delayed resolutions, but the NARCL acquisition is poised to consolidate valuable assets, including operational cement plants with a capacity of over 9 million tonnes, real estate near the Yamuna Expressway, hotels of luxury, a hospital, power stations and the Buddh International Circuit. .

The ₹12 billion offer is second only to Videocon Industries’ ₹65 billion insolvency case in terms of debt magnitude. As the largest settlement in its history, the JAL acquisition marks an important milestone in India’s efforts to resolve high value distressed cases.