Supreme Court Approves JSW Steel’s Plans To Acquire Bhushan Power & Steel

Stock trades 0.9% lower in a weak market

In a total reversal of its earlier order, the Supreme Court of India cleared JSW Steel’s path to acquire debt-laden Bhushan Power & Steel Ltd (BPSL) under a ₹19,700 crore resolution plan on Friday.

A special bench led by Justice B.R. Gavai, with Justices Satish Chandra Sharma and K. Vinod Chandran, upheld NCLT and NCLAT approvals, noting that JSW Steel had turned BPSL profitable.

The order, reserved on Aug. 11 after reviewing the pleas, reverses the court’s ruling on May 2, which had scrapped the resolution plan, ordered liquidation, and jeopardised the ₹34,000 crore bank debt.

In its judgment, the court noted that JSW Steel has significantly invested in modernizing BPSL and transformed it from a loss-making entity to a profitable one, thereby safeguarding thousands of jobs.

It rejected objections from the former promoters and dissenting creditors, particularly regarding claims over EBITDA or delayed interest that were not included in the approved resolution plan. The court emphasized that once a resolution plan is accepted by the Committee of Creditors (CoC), it should not be reopened, except in extraordinary circumstances.

With the legal overhang removed, JSW Steel can now fully consolidate its acquisition of BPSL and proceed with its expansion plans.

Stock Watch

JSW Steel’s stock traded 0.9% lower in a weak market. The Nifty50 index was down 1% at the time of writing.

The stock has gained more than 25% year-to-date.