Nazara Technologies Limited (NSEI:NAZARA) and a consortium of financial services firm Resurgent India Limited and Sanjay Lodha placed formal bids to buy Sachin Tendulkar-backed sports entertainment company Smaaash Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. (SEPL), three people familiar with the process said. Both paid the INR 50 million earnest money deposit (EMD) qualifying as bidders to acquire the bankrupt company.

?The bids which were opened on 15 April 2024 will now be scrutinised firstly for compliance & clarifications. Price negotiations will be undertaken later,? said one of the persons cited above.

Details of both bids could not be ascertained by ET. The two bidders could not be reached immediately. Lodha is the managing director of Faridabad-based technology company Netweb Technologies India Limited.

Smaaash owes creditors led by Edelweiss ARC about INR 4,520 million. Other lenders to the company are Yes Bank, Sidbi and Mabella Investment Advisors. It was admitted to bankruptcy in May 2022.

Resolution professional (RP) Bhru- gesh Amin has listed gaming machines, go-karts, bowling alleys and other entertainment devices spread across 13 centres as assets. Amin did not reply to an email seeking comment. This is the third resolution process for SEPL after the previous two rounds were scrapped due to litigation and other complications.

In a related development, previous promoter Shripal Morakhia has withdrawn his plea in the appellate tribunal challenging an order by NCLT?s Mumbai bench last November, annulling the change in ownership of the ?Smaaash? brand and terming it a ?fraudulent? transaction by Morakhia.

The court had said Morakhia colluded with associates to siphon off a ?critical and valuable? asset of the debt-laden company through an assignment agreement signed in 2022 which substantially reduced the financial proposal offered by prospective bidders for the company. The NCLT had directed that the brand be transferred back to SEPL.

A two-judge bench led by NCLAT chairperson Ashok Bhushan said in view of the appeal being withdrawn, the November 22 order of the NCLT continues to be operative. ?Now with Morakhia withdrawing the plea challenging NCLT order altogether, a major impediment to the resolution is gone. However, the previous promoter is notorious for creating legal hurdles.

Though resolution timeline does not end till August, creditors would like to expedite the process & find a buyer soonest,? said a source.