Former BluSmart executive leads Refex bid to salvage bankrupt EV ride hailer

The sustainable transport provider, which operates a fleet of more than 1,400 vehicles, is targeting BluSmart’s over 5,000 charging stations and technology stack, and has asked its interim resolution professional (IRP) to reopen the expression of interest (EoI) window after missing the initial deadline, said a person familiar with the matter.

The firm is expanding its presence across its five cities of operation: Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai.

To be sure, Refex Mobility is a wholly owned subsidiary of conglomerate Refex Industries Ltd, which had been in talks to acquire Gensol Engineering Ltd’s 2,997 electric cars leased to the electric cab operator, but dropped the deal in March after the latter’s ratings were downgraded.

Arun, who exited the ride-hailing company during its debt-repayment crisis earlier in 2025, along with chief technology officer Rishabh Sood and chief business officer Tushar Garg, joined Refex Mobility in August as its CEO.

Fight for BluSmart assets

In March, credit rating agencies Icra Ltd and CARE Ratings Ltd downgraded Gensol’s credit rating to junk due to delays in debt servicing, prompting Refex Industries to cancel the ₹315-crore deal with Gensol.

In April, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) barred Gensol, its chief executive Anmol Singh Jaggi and promoter director Puneet Singh Jaggi from the securities market over charges of fund diversion.

Soon, the operations of the Jaggi brothers and Punit Goyal-founded company came to a grinding halt, pushing its group companies into insolvency court.

The National Company Law Tribunal’s (NCLT) Ahmedabad bench commenced BluSmart Mobility's corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) on 28 July on a plea filed by Catalyst Trusteeship over a default of more than ₹1.28 crore. The bankruptcy court appointed NPV Insolvency Professionals as the interim resolution professional (IRP).

By late July, individuals and firms had approached the IRP to stake claims for their unpaid dues. About a month later, bids to resolve the claims were invited. By November, around 15 bids had been received, including one from Refex Mobility. These bidders—professionally termed prospective resolution applicants—were required to submit their EoIs by the second week of December, a deadline Refex was unable to meet.

Vedanta Ltd and Jindal Power Ltd were other prospective resolution applicants, said the people mentioned above.

The country's largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, was also said to have shown interest in the cab operator, but dropped out after a detailed review of the latter's assets.

Meanwhile, only four firms have submitted their interests as potential buyers for the bankrupt ride-hailing platform, another person added.

While detailed resolution plans remain some time away, the four companies are primarily interested in taking over BluSmart's charging infrastructure.

Refex's interest

At the same time, Refex Mobility is also looking to take over and leverage the company's established tech stack, which can be repurposed to fit new projects, a third person explained.

Along with BluSmart Mobility, a couple of its subsidiaries—BluSmart Mobility Tech Pvt. Ltd and BluSmart Fleet Pvt. Ltd—are also currently in insolvency, and prospective applicants can express interest in their assets, too.

BluSmart Charge Pvt. Ltd, the subsidiary responsible for the charging infrastructure, has not yet been admitted to insolvency. However, a bankruptcy petition has already been filed in Ahmedabad and is expected to be accepted soon, as the parent company reportedly has no liquidity, said the second person.

In the September quarter of 2025-26, green mobility contributed around 5% to Refex Industries' consolidated top line, a sharp increase from the 1.5% contribution recorded a year ago.

Refex Industries had green mobility assets worth about ₹205 crore as of the second quarter, and any acquisition of mobility technology and infrastructure will lead to a significant increase in this value.

Mint's emailed queries to Refex Industries, Refex Green Mobility, and BluSmart remained unanswered until publication.

The cascading effect

But even a short EoI extension of a few weeks will have a cascading effect for BluSmart, as resolution plans are usually invited about 30 days after EoIs close, followed by negotiations and committee of creditors (CoC) voting, said Alay Razvi, managing partner, law firm Accord Juris.

“On this trajectory, a realistic resolution window now shifts to early or mid-2026. If delays continue or consensus among bidders is not achieved, the process could drift close to the 330-day deadline, beyond which liquidation becomes the default outcome," he explained.

One must note that for any insolvency, excessive delay under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, framework typically reduces recoveries rather than improves them.

Razvi added that extended timelines pose risks to asset value. While BluSmart continues as a going concern, prolonged uncertainty can erode value through operational disruptions and weakening market confidence.