Equity Write-Downs Under Lens

Very little has been said about equity restructuring in companies facing bankruptcy proceedings at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). In fact, there is a very strong probability of lenders approaching the NCLT for share reductions to bring in new promoters with fresh equity capital.

The value of equity in these companies is technically zero because of unsustainable debts and subsequent erosion of net worth. If these companies are liquidated, in many cases, equity shareholders will get nothing. Share capital can be reduced by trimming the number of shares or reducing the face value. Either way, there will be a reduction of paid-up capital. Recently, there has also been considerable interest from investors in ailing firms such as Monnet Ispat, Bhushan Steel, Amtek Auto, Electrosteel and Jaypee Infratech.

Anand Adhikari