Shares of Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) fell over 7 percent intraday as investors turned cautious of insolvency proceedings initiated against Lavasa Corporation by creditors.
The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 14.52 and an intraday low of Rs 13.44.
The luxury township has been referred to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for insolvency proceedings by its operational creditors. NCLT has appointed Devendra Prasad as Interim Resolution Professional under the provisions of the IBC, parent company HCC informed the stock exchanges.
“The National Company Law Tribunal vide its order dated 30/08/2018 has admitted a plea filed by operational creditors who initiated Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against Lavasa Corporation Limited under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC),” HCC said in the filing.
Lavasa Corporation Ltd is jointly held by Hindustan Construction Company Limited – HCC (68.7 percent), Avantha Group (17.18 percent), Venkateshwara Hatcheries (7.81 percent) and Mr. Vithal Maniar (6.29 percent).
“Now, under the ClRP process, the Resolution Professional and Committee of Creditors (CoC) will take charge of Lavasa management and shall work towards implementation of a Resolution Plan within 270 days,” the company said.
Lavasa was initiated as per the Government of Maharashtra’s policy and regulations for new hill stations as India’s first privately built smart city near Pune.
However, in November 2010, the national environment and forests ministry first halted construction for about a year, alleging rule violations and the company’s cash flow quickly dried up. Its efforts to tap equity markets with an IPO fell through with market concerns over further government intervention.
“The project was severely impacted by a Ministry of Environment notification to stop work for jurisdictional reasons and not for environmental infractions. Operations slowly came to a stand-still due to paucity of working capital and caused Lavasa’s investors and partners to also step back or defer their investment plans,” HCC said in the filing.
“A swift resolution through IBC will benefit all stakeholders, especially customers, who have patiently supported Lavasa through this tumultuous period” said Arjun Dhawan, Director & Group CEO, HCC Ltd.
At 10:36 hrs Hindustan Construction Company was quoting at Rs 13.84, down Rs 0.68, or 4.68 percent, on the BSE.
