Jet lenders to invite bids for sale of stake on 6 April
05 Apr 2019
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Lenders to Jet Airways on Thursday announced plans for sale of stake in the debt-laden airline, but said they will look for other options if the efforts to sell their stake in the airline do not materialise.
In a statement issued after a meeting on Thursday, lenders proposed to invite Expressions of Interest from eligible buyers on 6 April with a deadline for submission of the EoIs by 9 April.
The statement, however, said, “the lenders will consider other options if the stake sale plans do not yield good results.
While the lenders intend to pursue a plan for a stake sale in the airline, they said, any sale of stake would depend on an ‘acceptable outcome’.
Lenders said they “intend to pursue the bank-led resolution plan for the sale of a stake in the company in a time-bound manner under the present legal and regulatory framework and intend to invite expressions of interest (EoI)”.
They also said the recent Supreme Court order setting aside RBI’s 12 February 2018 circular on a revised framework for the resolution of stressed assets, will not have any impact on Jet’s shareholding pattern.
As per the debt resolution plan, lenders led by SBI will take over the airline’s debt and convert it into 114 million shares for a token Re1.
Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Secretary PS Kharola said in New Delhi on Thursday that the Ministry is “keeping a close watch on Jet Airways”.
On Wednesday, Jet Airways board met to review the airline’s operations and consider the resolution plan that has been drawn up for the airline.
News agencies quoting PS Kharola, Secretary, Civil Aviation said Jet Airways had a fleet of less than 15 aircraft.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), however, clarified that Jet Airways currently has a fleet of 28 aircraft, which is enough to keep operating services. The regulator, however, did not specify the type of aircraft and the number of weekly flights that the airline operates on domestic and international routes.
For Jet to operate international services, however, current regulations require the airline have a minimum fleet of 20 aircraft.
There is, however, uncertainty as to the number of aircraft Jet Airways currently operate after the airline had told the Bombay Stock Exchange on Tuesday that 15 more of its aircraft had been grounded due to non-payment of lease rentals.
