Mumbai-based Suraksha group will take over the bankrupt Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), providing assurance to over 20,000 homebuyers of getting possession of their flats after several years of delay.

Suraksha Asset Reconstruction Company on Wednesday won a narrow victory against state-owned NBCC Ltd, as financial creditors weighed the two options.

In a 10-day-long voting process on the takeover proposals, Suraksha got 98.66% votes compared to NBCC’s 98.54%. The voting process allows creditors to vote for both proposals.

Most financial creditors voted for both bidders. The decider was with two financial institutions voting in favour of Suraksha ARC alone. This helped it win the bid.

“We’re committed to the homebuyers, and assure them with accelerated construction work in all phases leading to faster deliveries as promised in our resolution plan,” a spokesperson for Suraksha ARC said in a statement. "Further, we look forward to the continued support of all stakeholders in our journey to bring back the beleaguered real estate project to fulfill the dreams of thousands of homebuyers.

JIL, which slipped into Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in August 2017, had the fourth round of bidding to find a buyer. Following multiple bids, negotiations, rebids and complaints by both bidders, the resolution plans were put to vote on 14 June.

Suraksha got 41.91% vote from 12 banks out of their total voting right of 43.25%. NBCC, on the other hand, got 41.79% vote from institutional financial creditors, which have submitted claims of Rs 9,783 crore.

Two lenders – ICICI Bank (which has 1.34% votes) and Srei Equipment Finance Ltd (0.12% voting share) voted against NBCC’s bid. All the other banks voted in favour of Suraksha group.

Both Suraksha and NBCC got the full 56.62% and 0.13 votes of homebuyers and FD holders, respectively.

Suraksha ARC has proposed to infuse Rs 125-crore worth equity into Jaypee Infratech. It will also avail Rs 3,000 crore in loans to complete construction of the residential units. These housing projects, launched by the realty developer in Noida and greater Noida, have been pending for over a decade. The ARC plans to complete construction work within 42 months after taking over Jaypee Infratech.

In the Committee of Creditors (CoC), 12 banks and more than 20,000 homebuyers have voting rights. At least 66% votes are required for the approval of a bid.

Suraksha group’s offer will need to be cleared by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).