Adani Pips Vedanta for Jaiprakash Associates: Here’s Why Creditors Flipped

Jaiprakash Associates’ creditors on Tuesday reportedly voted in favour of Adani Enterprises, setting aside Vedanta’s earlier bid for the bankrupt infrastructure conglomerate. The move comes after Anil Agarwal’s mining group had previously won a challenge process for Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL).

According to the Economic Times (ET), JAL’s lenders ultimately opted for Adani Enterprises because of its higher upfront payment, even though Adani’s net present value was reportedly about ₹500 crore lower than Vedanta’s ₹17,000 crore bid made during the electronic auction process.

Lenders still scored Adani Group’s proposal the highest, giving it the advantage. The vote closed on Tuesday evening, though some lenders have since questioned the scoring methodology used by the committee of creditors, the newspaper reported.

The National Asset Reconstruction Company is the biggest lender to Jaiprakash Associates, which owes around ₹55,000 crore and has been under insolvency since June last year. Deloitte’s Bhuvan Madan is overseeing the process as JAL’s resolution professional.

Five bidders had initially submitted plans for acquiring JAL, including Adani, Vedanta, Dalmia Bharat, Jindal Power and PNC Infratech. Dalmia Bharat was the early frontrunner but its proposal was reportedly conditional, and it did not join the later e-auction.

Earlier this month, JAL’s promoter Manoj Gaur proposed an ₹18,000 crore settlement, but lenders felt he lacked adequate proof of funding. Jaiprakash Associates, the Jaypee Group’s flagship, operates across cement, power, engineering, hospitality, real estate and sports infrastructure, including a 1,000-hectare sports city in Greater Noida.

A key hurdle in the insolvency process is this 1,000-hectare sports city, which is under legal scrutiny. The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) cancelled Jaypee’s allotment in 2019, citing a default of over ₹500 crore and lease violations. A CAG audit also flagged major irregularities in the allotment process.

It alleged that land meant for sports infrastructure was undervalued, and eligibility rules enabled real estate firms to win bids without strong sports-development credentials. As a result, many plots meant for stadiums, academies and golf courses have instead been used for housing, while promised sports facilities remain unrealised.

The Allahabad High Court later upheld YEIDA’s cancellation of the lease, ruling that Jaypee had failed to meet its payment and development obligations. The case is now being heard in the Supreme Court. It was earlier reported that, barring Adani Enterprises, most bids were contingent on JAL winning this lawsuit.