Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., India’s third-largest producer of the alloy by market value, and two other groups are keen to express their interest in bidding for Reliance Naval & Engineering Ltd., Anil Ambani’s bankrupt shipyard. Reliance Naval may be a captive client for Jindal Steel, which is owned by Naveen Jindal, according to Vidya Rattan Sharma, managing director of the steelmaker, who reported Jindal’s involvement. Others who registered to bid as of the Feb. 28 deadline included Dubai-based shipping firm GMS and Kotak Special Circumstances Fund. The hunt for a buyer for the indebted shipyard, which was once owned by former billionaire Anil Ambani, started in May 2019, and deadlines have already been extended four times.
A successful selling of Reliance Naval would assist creditors such as IDBI Bank Ltd. and State Bank of India in recouping a portion of the company’s 108 billion rupee ($1.5 billion) debt. GMS, one of the world’s largest ship recycling buyers, the Kotak fund, and Sudip Bhattacharya, Reliance Naval’s insolvency resolution specialist, did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. In an interview, Jindal Steel’s Sharma said, “We are looking at it in two ways.” “One is its strategic position as a port, and the other is that it could be a good outlet for consuming our own plates”. According to Sharma, Jindal is not collaborating with any other organisation for the bid.
On Tuesday, the company’s stock dropped 2.1% in Mumbai. Last year, the port division of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, the world’s largest container carrier, and 11 other companies competed for the asset. The Hindu Businessline announced in October that Maersk’s unit had pulled out. Maersk’s APM Terminals is “naturally involved” in Reliance Naval, the company said in response to a question on Tuesday. “However, it would be premature to speculate about whether the RNEL restructuring would provide us with a viable business opportunity.”
