In the second round of e-auctions, Punj Lloyd, an engineering, procurement and construction company that is under debt and facing liquidation, has again failed to attract buyers. The e-auction was conducted by its liquidator.
According to a regulatory filing by the secretary of the company, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed to conduct the second round of e-auction at a reserved price of Rs 1,061 crore on a going concern basis.
In the filing, it read “…e-auction notice dated July 24, 2023 made pursuant to Asset Sale Process Memorandum (ASPM) for the second e-auction- Punj Lloyd Ltd (in liquidation), announcing the sale of Punj Lloyd Ltd at the Reserve Price of Rs 1,061 crore ongoing concern basis undergoing liquidation pursuant to order dated May 27, 2022 of NCLT, New Delhi, Principal Bench, has failed to attract any bidder.”
In the first round of e-auctions conducted by its liquidator in July, Punj Lloyd at that time too failed to get any buyer.
Punj Lloyd’s reserve price was set at Rs 1,061 crore during the auction but did not attract bidders. After that, a second round of electronic auction was conducted. In June 2022, the NCLT ordered Punj Lloyd into liquidation after its lenders failed to find a buyer and rejected the revival plan that was submitted by a consortium of Prudent ARC and Payard Investments.
In 2019, on the plea of ICICI Bank, the private sector lender, a corporate insolvency resolution process was initiated against Punj Lloyd.