The National Company Law Tribunal (Principal Bench, Chandigarh) has cleared the way for Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty House Group to acquire and revive the 6000-worker Indian and international automotive parts manufacturer, Amtek Auto.

The tribunal issued an order approving the resolution plan submitted by UK-owned Liberty House for acquiring the controlling stake in Amtek Auto under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 (IBC). This puts the seal on the Committee of Creditors (CoC) decision in March to name Liberty as the preferred bidder for the Amtek Auto business, which had been in administration for the last twelve months.

Amtek is one of the largest integrated auto component manufacturers in India with operations across forging, iron and aluminium casting, machining and sub-assemblies. Steel and aluminium parts made by Amtek include connecting rods, crankshafts, flywheels, engine blocks, cylinder heads and various engine housing and drive train components.

The tribunal’s decision gives the green light for Liberty, part of the GFG Alliance, to complete the legal acquisition of Amtek Auto and begin integrating the operation into its growing global network of automotive component manufacturing plants. Liberty recently acquired the flagship AR Industries car wheels plant at Chateauroux in France and already has a large automotive manufacturing footprint in the UK.

Amtek Auto, employing a total of over 6,000 people, has plants spread throughout India’s automotive manufacturing heartlands including Delhi, NCR, Pune, Chennai, Bhopal and Baddi. The company also has plants in Japan, Thailand and Spain.

It supplies precision-engineered components to most large vehicle makers worldwide, including Ford, Renault Nissan, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hero Motorcycles, Honda, Cummins, Caterpillar, JCB, Escorts, Eicher, John Deere and ITL.

Welcoming the tribunal’s decision GFG Alliance Executive Chairman Sanjeev Gupta said: “This is an exciting milestone in the worldwide development of Liberty and the whole GFG Group. It will greatly expand our footprint in the fast-growing automotive market, both in India and globally. We are looking forward to formally completing the deal and working with the skilled workforce of Amtek Auto to drive the business forward and make it a powerful force in the market again.

“This leading engineering business will complement the GFG Alliance’s existing operations through integration with our metals manufacturing and energy generating capabilities,” he added.

Dr Douglas Dawson, Chief Executive of Liberty Industries Group, who led the bid said: “India is a major hub for the automotive industry and this acquisition opens up excellent opportunities for us to establish a leading presence in that sector. We’re looking forward to meeting key customers to discuss how we’ll work together to add real value to the industry.”

Indian Business Development Director, Rajiv Bajaj, added: “Liberty’s team is grateful to Amtek resolution professional Dinkar Venkatasubramanian, its Committee of Creditors, all advisors, and, above all, Amtek Auto’s customers and employees and we look forward to fulfilling the potential of this business.”

Following a successful acquisition of Amtek’s operations, GFG intends to apply its GREENMETAL vision in India and develop a full end-to-end enterprise ranging from renewable energy generation and metal-making right through to finished engineering products. As part of this integrated strategy, the group is continuing to pursue other assets in India, some of which are currently in the NCLT process.