Acre ARC, a bad loan aggregator, has sold the debt of Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals to AM Green Ammonia for ₹1,685 crore. Acre ARC had acquired the debt for ₹896 crore from a seven-bank consortium in March last year, achieving an 88% return.
The sale was completed through an auction under SARFAESI last month. With this deal, AM Green, part of the Hyderabad-based renewable energy company Greenko, will take control of Nagarjuna Fertilizers’ assets. Acre declined to comment on the transaction.
People familiar with the deal said AM Green will use Nagarjuna’s brand, network, and resources in exchange for a royalty. Despite the asset control shifting to Greenko, there is no change in Nagarjuna’s shareholding.
For Acre ARC, the deal is notable as it had consolidated the debt from a seven-bank consortium, managed by IDBI Bank. Other major lenders included State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Bank of India, UCO Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, and PNB.
Previously, in August last year, Nagarjuna sought shareholder approval to sell its urea manufacturing plant and micro-irrigation business to AM Green Ammonia, but the deal fell through due to unmet conditions.
Emails to Nagarjuna and Greenko did not receive responses. The sale has made Nagarjuna debt-free, clearing nearly ₹4,000 crore of loans. Acre ARC had planned to sell Nagarjuna as a composite asset, including the Kakinada urea plant and other units.
Nagarjuna’s 1.59 million tonne plant in Kakinada faced issues due to a gas pipeline burst in 2014-15, leading to loan defaults. The fertilizer sector relies heavily on government subsidies, and delays in government payments also affected the business.
