Ramdev's Patanjali gets more time to file resolution plan for Ruchi Soya

Yoga practitioner Baba Ramdev-led Patanjali Ayurved Wednesday sought more time from the National Company Law Tribunal to file a detailed resolution plan for Madhya Pradesh-based edible oil firm Ruchi Soya, which the company agreed to acquire for Rs 4,325 crore. The tribunal comprising VP Singh and Ravikumar Duraisamy posted the matter for further hearing on May 7.

SBI-led lenders agreed on Tuesday, with around 96 per cent vote, to go with the second revised bid by the company promoted by Baba Ram Dev. Patanjali had last month increased its bid value by around Rs 200 crore to Rs 4,325 crore for bankruptcy-bound Ruchi Soya. The deal leaves the banks with a huge haircut of over 51 per cent of the debt.

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.

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.

Patanjali, which was clocking multi-fold growth in recent years, saw a marginal growth in FY18, hit by GST, finishing at around Rs 12,000 crore. In FY17 it had a turnover of Rs 10,561 crore, registering 111 per cent growth. 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.