Supreme Court's status quo on Essar Steel sale to ArcelorMittal

A bench headed by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman admitted the appeals by Essar Steel lenders and Arcelor Mittal challenging the order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Monday ruled the status quo on the sale of Essar Steel to ArcelorMittal.

A bench headed by Justice Rohinton F. Nariman admitted the appeals by Essar Steel lenders and ArcelorMittal challenging the order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

The court said it will conduct a detailed hearing on the contentions made in the appeal and also look into the issues emerging from the Essar verdict. The top court will hear the matter at length after two weeks.

A consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India had moved the apex court against NCLAT order that claimed Essar Steel's operational creditors have to be treated on par with financial creditors at the time of settling claims in the deal.

Essar Steel is under a debt of Rs 30,030 crore to financial creditors and Rs 11,969 crore to operational creditors.

State-run banks are primary financial creditors of Essar Steel while its operational creditors are vendors and suppliers.

The tribunal has asked the committee of creditors to engage professional firms to finalize the exact amount to be distributed among each operational creditor.