Mercantile Ports Jumps 21% as Court Filings Reveal Rival Bid During Active Settlement

Shares in Mercantile Ports and Logistics Ltd (LSE:MPL) climbed 21% to 1.75p after the AIM-listed company revealed that newly disclosed court filings suggest a rival bid for the debt of its Indian port asset was being considered before its own settlement agreement was terminated.

The company’s challenge to the cancellation of its settlement proposal for Karanja Terminal & Logistics is scheduled to be heard by the National Company Law Tribunal in Mumbai on 1 July 2026.

At the heart of the dispute is the termination of Mercantile’s One Time Settlement (OTS), an approved agreement under which the company had been named the successful bidder. Mercantile said it had already deposited approximately ₹43 crore (£3.8 million) under the terms of the settlement.

According to filings from the lender consortium and Prudent ARC, a competing binding offer of ₹520 crore (around £46 million) was submitted by Prudent ARC while Mercantile’s OTS remained in force. The company said the rival proposal was both submitted and considered before its settlement was annulled, despite Mercantile having won the original process and remaining within a payment window that extended to 30 September 2025.

Mercantile argued that the newly disclosed information significantly changes the factual narrative surrounding the case and raises questions over whether there was ever a genuine intention to complete the settlement. The company added that legal advisers believe the outcome of previous proceedings, including those before the Delhi High Court, may have been different had these facts been known at the time.

Managing Director Pavan Bakhshi said the admissions raised serious concerns about transparency, fairness and whether Mercantile had been given a legitimate opportunity to complete the settlement. He noted that the debt was ultimately transferred to the party that had previously lost the original bidding process.

Bakhshi said the company would continue pursuing all available legal avenues to safeguard shareholder interests and maximise value recovery for stakeholders.