If the winning bidder, the Jalan-Kalrock consortium, and the financing banks cannot agree on how to divide the income from aircraft rentals, lenders led by the State Bank of India (SBI) may force Jet Airways into liquidation.
Air Serbia has received around 108 crores so far from renting aircraft. The sum is kept on deposit with the SBI.
One of those individuals listed above stated, “At a meeting conducted earlier this week, the banks conveyed to the winning bidder that they will apply for liquidation if lease rentals are not disbursed to verified lenders.”
The same person claimed that the Jalan-Kalrock consortium had requested a decision-making delay until next week. The allocation of the lease rentals is not addressed in the resolution plan approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which has resulted in a disagreement between the winning bidder and the lenders to the struggling airline.
Jalan-Kalrock chooses not to respond to questions about this.
A spokesman from the successful consortium stated, “We are focusing on relaunching Jet in the upcoming weeks. Separately, calls for comment from the resolution specialist went unanswered.
The Jalan Kalrock consortium plan was approved by the NCLT in June of last year, but the group has not yet made payments to lenders.
The second individual responded, “In essence, the lenders are still in control of Jet Airways, and the money amassed as lease fees should thus be transferred to them.”
The execution of the proposal was postponed while the new owner of Jet Airways sought regulatory approvals. In the third week of May of this year, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) renewed Jet’s air operators certificate. Due to Jet Airways’ failure to pay for fuel and lease rentals, all flights were grounded starting in April 2019.
The Jalan-Kalrock group has proposed 380 crores in phased payments. These include a one-time payment of 185 crores and a two-year payment of 195 crores following the implementation of the plan. Additionally, lenders would get a 9.5 percent ownership of the airlines. However, a portion of the money used to pay the creditors comes from the sale of assets belonging to Jet Airways.
Only 5% of the lenders’ claims are recovered, which limits the negative effects of a firm liquidation.
Grant Thornton-supported resolution expert Ashish Chhawchharia has acknowledged claims from verified creditors totaling Rs. 7,453 crores.
The airline is talking with Boeing and Airbus to place an order for aircraft in anticipation of beginning operations in September.
Jet wants to start flying again while demand for travel is increasing, despite having to deal with rising fuel costs. As a result of Tata Sons’ most recent acquisition of Air India, competition is also getting more intense. At the same time, Akasa Air, owned by billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, aims to launch operations in a fortnight after receiving its pilot’s license earlier this month.
These airlines will join IndiGo, which currently holds a 60 percent share of the local market along with rivals SpiceJet and Go First.
The winning consortium includes Florian Fritsch, who will own shares through his investment holding company Kalrock Capital Partners Ltd, Cayman, and NRI Murari Lal Jalan, who will hold shares in Jet in his personal capacity and is based in the United Arab Emirates (KCPL). According to the resolution plan, Jalan has business interests in the UAE, Brazil, India, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines.
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