Ceat, Jindal Power, Private Equity Funds among companies in race for Birla Tyres

Birla Tyres, a Kesoram Industries company admitted for debt resolution by India’s bankruptcy court last year, has received expressions of interest (EoIs) from Ceat, Bain-Piramal-backed India Resurgent Fund, Naveen Jindal company Jindal Power, Dalmia Bharat Refractories, and Purnendu Chatterjee-promoted MCPI, two people aware of the development said.

The National Company Law Tribunal admitted the company under the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) in May 2022 on a petition by chemicals maker SRF after it defaulted on dues of ₹15 crore.

The resolution professional Pratim Bayal, supported by PwC, has invited the EoI applicants to submit their resolution plans before the end of this month.

The RP, who has admitted ₹1,128 crore claims from financial creditors, did not respond to ET’s request for comment.

The other corporate EoI applicants include Jindal Poly Films, Falcon Marine Exports, Himadri Speciality Chemicals, KLJ Specialities, Bommidala Enterprises, United Biotech, KR Pulp and Paper, Orissa Metaliks, Shyam Sel and Power, and a consortium led by DD Steel and Power

Other strategic investors include Dickey Alternative Investments Trust, which acts through its fund manager Dickey Asset Management; RKG Fund-I, a trust operated by Prudent ARC; a consortium led by Stephens Financial Services and Edelweiss Alternative Asset Advisors.

Birla Tyres manufactures tyres for commercial vehicles, farm vehicles, heavy earth-moving machinery, motorcycles, and three-wheelers. It was demerged from parent Kesoram Industries as a standalone tyre manufacturing company in 2019.”One of the key attractions is the location of the plant. It is situated in an industrial area with 181 acres of freehold land available for development to the potential bidder,” a person aware of the debt resolution process said.

The second reason is that there are three ports and one airport – Subarnarekha Port, Mahanadi Riverine Port, Paradip Port, and Biju Patnaik International Airport – close to the plant.

It has a manufacturing unit in Balasore in Odisha, but operations have been stalled for the past two years. Birla Tyres also has an under-construction project adjacent to the existing Balasore plant for manufacturing radial tyres for passenger cars.

Among the lenders, Axis Bank has made the highest claim of ₹555.6 crore, followed by Asset Reconstruction Company of India at ₹196 crore and State Bank of India at ₹120 crore.

Its other lenders include DBS Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank and Yes Bank.