NTPC plans to acquire 2 power plants

India’s largest public sector power producer,NTPC is planning to acquire two stressed power projects of Jai prakash Power Ventures and one of Jindal India on a slump sale basis, as the developers failed to service debt and are now before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). People close to the development told FE that NTPC is separately negotiating with lenders to arrive at a deal so they can acquire the projects before the resolution providers put up a bid to get new sponsors. The current sponsors are distressed and cannot run the project, so they are covered under Section 29A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) Amendment Act 2018. The Allahabad High Court last week ruled that a power company can’t be taken to bankruptcy court for not repaying loans unless it has been declared a wilful defaulter. The court has also asked the finance secretary to meet power producers in June to discuss stressed assets, giving banks longer time to find a resolution to stressed accounts.