Gummidipoondi thermal plant of ARS Energy on the block at Rs 211.94 crore reserve price

The liquidator of ARS Energy Pvt Ltd has put the company’s 60 MW coal-based thermal power plant at Gummidipoondi in Tamil Nadu’s Thiruvallur district up for e-auction at a reserve price of Rs 211.94 crore. This comes about five months after the creditors rejected seven resolution plans for the company.

According to the sale notice published on Monday, the assets will be sold as a slump sale under Regulation 32(b) of the IBBI (Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016. The auction is scheduled for November 4, 2026, from 11 am to noon on the IBBI-empanelled BAANKNET platform. Each valid bid in the closing period will trigger an unlimited extension of five minutes. Bidders must deposit an earnest money deposit (EMD) of Rs 21.19 crore and bid in increments of Rs 2.12 crore.

What is on sale

The sale covers all the assets of the company in liquidation:

• about 62.99 acres of power plant land across the Chitturnatham, Eguvarpalayam and Guruvaraja Kandigai/Sirupuzhalpettai-II villages, with buildings and civil structures;
• a 251 TPH CFBC boiler, a 60 MW steam turbine generator with a 60 MW/75 MVA alternator, ESP, chimney, air-cooled condenser, and coal and ash handling systems;
• a 230 kV switchyard and a power evacuation line of about 32 towers running over 7 km;
• about 15.12 acres of additional land at Kannambakkam, a 17,018 sq ft parcel at Sinthalakuppam, and about 30 cents at Sirupuzhalpettai/Guruvaraja Kandigai;
• stores, spares, vehicles, receivables and actionable claims.

The assets are offered on an “as is where is, as is what is, whatever there is and without recourse” basis.

Prospective bidders must register on BAANKNET and submit their Section 29A eligibility affidavit and KYC documents by November 2. The EMD is also due by that date. The plant is open for inspection from October 5 to November 2. After the auction, the EMDs of the highest and second-highest bidders will be retained until post-auction due diligence and eligibility checks are complete.

Seven plans rejected

The Chennai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) admitted ARS Energy into the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) on February 14, 2025, on a petition by Canara Bank. The committee of creditors (CoC) was made up entirely of secured lenders: Canara Bank (36.62%), Bank of Baroda (22.06%), State Bank of India (20.88%), Punjab National Bank (17.02%) and HDFC Bank (3.42%). Admitted financial debt was about Rs 387.40 crore.

The first invitation for expressions of interest, issued in April 2025, drew six plans. Four were shortlisted. After negotiations in July and August 2025, the CoC rejected them, saying their offers were well below liquidation value and commercially unacceptable. A second invitation in September 2025 drew seven plans. Their final values were:

• Cyfuture India Pvt Ltd: Rs 178.08 crore
• Maadurga Thermal Power Company Ltd: Rs 123.16 crore
• Woori Energy Innovations and Priyanka Infrahomes (consortium): Rs 100 crore
• Aikyam Stressed Asset Fund I and others (consortium): Rs 75.01 crore
• Hindustan Thermal Projects Ltd: Rs 51 crore
• Mohit Minerals Ltd: Rs 40 crore
• Lanco Kondapalli Power Ltd: Rs 21.01 crore

The CoC put all seven plans to vote on January 9, 2026. By the time voting closed in March, every lender had voted against all seven, citing feasibility, viability and commercial terms. On March 24-25, the CoC voted unanimously to liquidate the company. The NCLT ordered liquidation on May 5, 2026. The registered valuers had put the plant’s fair value at Rs 260.93 crore and its liquidation value at Rs 162.96 crore.

The reserve price of Rs 211.94 crore is about 30% above the liquidation value and about 19% below fair value. It is also Rs 33.86 crore more than the highest plan the lenders rejected, Cyfuture’s Rs 178.08 crore offer, which itself was above the liquidation value. Measured against the admitted debt, the reserve price would give lenders about 55%, before liquidation costs.

Change of liquidator

The NCLT’s May 5 order had appointed resolution professional R Bhuvaneshwari as liquidator. In the CoC vote on her appointment, lenders with 63.38% voted in favour, while Canara Bank, the largest lender, voted against. That was short of the required 66%. The tribunal appointed her anyway, noting that a majority had backed her and that no disciplinary proceedings or complaints were pending against her.

The sale notice, however, is signed by Kalvakolanu Murali Krishna Prasad of Hyderabad as liquidator. IBBI records list a further NCLT order in the matter dated August 14, 2026. The circumstances of the change could not be immediately ascertained.

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