AIP, Sanjeev Gupta board spat for Alvance Aluminium Duffel worsens

The US private equity group American Industrial Partners (AIP) board spat with British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta has gone to worst.

Gupta was displaced from Alvance Aluminium Duffel earlier this month and now he has successfully fought in court to be appointed back to the board on 14th July 14. Though it’s an impermanent win for Gupta, it gives him time to fetch a solution with lenders, who are trying to overtake his assets.

As per the sources, on 14th July 2021, the Antwerp, Belgium based commercial court reinstated Sanjeev Gupta as head of the Alvance Aluminium Duffel BV unit. However, as of yet, there has been no comment from both parties on this issue.

The American equity firm stands as the main lender to the Duffel plant, which also stressed the company into administration in the U.K. earlier this month due to the loan default, according to the industry sources.

In the long-running saga between Sanjeev and his creditors, this is considered as the latest twist. The distressed metal tycoons company GFG Alliance is confronting lenders from the UK to Australia to refinance the $5 billion credit limit that was sourced from Grensill Capital, which has collapsed now while striving to guard the assets.

In April 2021, AIP incorporated with GFG after buying most of the senior debt of Sanjeev Gupta’s aluminium assets in Europe. It attempted to seize the assets in June, but its offer was counted too low, while in the meantime GFG refinanced the loans from Glencore, the Anglo-Swiss multinational commodity trader.

The scuffle for the assets has also roots in Sanjeev Gupta own barrack, when the metal baron was redundant with one of his most senior aides, Jay Hambro after he backed AIP’s bid, while on 5th July during company filing, Hambro was discontinued as a director of Duffel.