State Bank of India (SBI) has initiated insolvency proceedings in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar, the country’s largest sugar firm.

SBI as a financial creditor has filed the plea at the Allahabad bench of the NCLT. 

"We understand that SBI, financial creditor, through its advocate has initiated Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process of Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Ltd," the company said in a regulatory filing.

The petition has been filed under Section 7 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.

Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar reportedly owes around Rs 4,800 crore to banks such as the SBI, Punjab National Bank (PNB), Indian Bank and Central Bank of India.

In the previous fiscal, the company had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 267.54 crore on a turnover of Rs 5,607 crore.

For the quarter ended June, the company posted net loss of Rs 45 crore on a total income of Rs 1,538 crore.

"During the June '22 quarter, due to delayed payment of loan instalment and coupon rate interest on optionally convertible debentures the lenders have classified the company's account as Non-Performing Assets (NPA) as per the RBI regulations on loan classification.

The lenders of the company have signed an ICA (Inter Creditors Agreement) on January 28, 2022 for resolution of the company's accounts, the company had said in the notes of accounts of financial statement for the first quarter.

The debt restructuring as per RBI's S4A scheme has improved the company's liquidity position, it said.

"However, keeping in view the status of outstanding cane dues and funds for servicing debt obligations, the company is further discussing with the lenders a debt resolution plan to have a lasting solution to improve its liquidity," Bajaj Hindusthan had said.

The resolution plan envisages reduction of its overall debt, realignment of its capital structure, payment of cane dues of farmers, increasing cane availability and supply etc.

"The company is also exploring/evaluating various options for corporate restructuring to streamline the business and enhance the company's value," Bajaj Hindusthan said.

Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Ltd is India's leading sugar and ethanol manufacturing company.

Part of the Bajaj Group (Kushagra), it is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

The company has fourteen sugar plants, all located in Uttar Pradesh.

These plants have an aggregate sugarcane crushing capacity of 1,36,000 tonnes crushed per day and alcohol distillation capacity of 800 kilolitres per day.

It is also one of the largest producers of ethanol and currently produces 38 million litres of ethanol per year. The company has increased its ethanol manufacturing capacity to roughly 218 million litres per year.

Bajaj Hindusthan said the company generates close to 430 MW of power from the bagasse produced at its sugar mills and supplies nearly 100 MW from it to the UP State Grid.

Additionally, it has five 90 MW coal-fired power plants adjacent to its sugar units which generate another 450 MW of electricity for the state grid.

The minimum amount of loan offered by banks or FIs should be Rs 500 crore or in multiple of Rs 500 crore.