MUMBAI: Billionaire Lakshmi Mittal’s ArcelorMittal has cut a cheque of Rs 7,000 crore to clear the dues of its associate companies and to make itself eligible by law to bid for bankrupt Essar Steel . “ArcelorMittal maintains that its offer for Essar Steel, submitted on February 12, is and always has been eligible. The tribunal will hear its case on May 17. It has appealed against the lenders’ decision to demand that Numatel should pay up dues to be eligible for bidding in bankruptcy process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Numetal said that none of its shareholders have any overdue loans with any Indian lender without getting into the specifics of its appeal to consider the second round of bidding.Satish Gupta, the resolution professional, had declared both the bids received in the first round ineligible, following which a second round of bidding was conducted in early April.

Source: Economic Times May 15, 2018 15:06 UTC