Ruchi Soya acquisition: How will Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali benefit from takeover?

Lenders approve Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved's revised Rs 4,325 crore bid to acquire debt-ridden Ruchi Soya, Madhya Pradesh-based edible oil firm, according to sources. Patanjali had last month increased its bid value by around Rs 200 crore to Rs 4,325 crore for bankruptcy-bound Ruchi Soya.

With the acquisition of Ruchi Soya, Patanjali will become a major player in soybean oils and other products. "We have revised our bid to Rs 4,350 crore from an earlier offer of Rs 4,160 crore. We are ready to bail out Ruchi Soya which has the biggest infrastructure for soyabean. It's a national asset," Patanjali spokesperson S K Tijarawala had said last month. The decision to increase the bid was taken in the interest of all stakeholders including farmers and consumers, he had said.

In December 2017, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had referred Ruchi Soya for insolvency proceedings on the application of financial creditors Standard Chartered Bank and DBS Bank. Shailendra Ajmera was appointed as resolution professional (RP) to manage the company's affairs and conduct insolvency proceedings.

Adani Wilmar, which emerged as the highest bidder in August last year after a long drawn battle with Patanjali, had withdrawn from the race citing delay in completion of the insolvency process. Ruchi Soya has a total debt of about Rs 12,000 crore. The company has many manufacturing plants and its leading brands include Nutrela, Mahakosh, Sunrich, Ruchi Star and Ruchi Gold.

Before withdrawing from the race, Adani Wilmar had in December last year written to the RP regarding significant delays in a resolution process that led to the deterioration of Ruchi Soya's assets.