A recent order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved a plan requiring media baron Subhash Chandra to pay Rs 6.25 crore against guarantees of over Rs 22,000 crore. The order has since been stayed but it brought a larger question into focus: when thousands of crores of public money are at stake, how much scrutiny do decisions in India’s bankruptcy system really face? And how much scope do courts and tribunals have to question decisions taken by creditors.

Against this backdrop, Newslaundry looked at the biggest player in this system: the Adani Group, with a robust winning record in insolvency bids. In fact, the group has emerged as the largest corporate acquirer through India’s insolvency process by both the number and size of acquisitions.

Since 2018, Adani Group, its linked entities and consortiums have participated in bids to acquire 26**  distressed companies through India’s bankruptcy process. It has won 16 of them, with one case ongoing, though the latest decision went in Adani’s favour. This is a 61.5 percent success rate – meaning it won nearly three out of every five bids. While 14 of these 16 acquisitions came through the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) to revive distressed business, the other two came through liquidation aimed at winding up operations.

Newslaundry examined the public records of 13 of the 16 of the companies the group won. These included power plants, two ports, cement assets, defence manufacturing and prime Mumbai real estate. 

In several cases, the process did not seem to run in a straight line.

These include: An auction that was reopened after a winner had been chosen and its plan filed in court; bidding rules that were rewritten after bids had been opened; and Adani being  designated an “anchor” and given the right to match whatever its rivals offered. In two cases, the committee of creditors that approved the deal had shrunk to a single member. In one, the winning bidder – Adani –  had voted in the creditors’ committee on its own plan – and without its vote, the plan would have failed.