Jet Airways: CoC decides to extend deadline for bids to 10 March after Russian Fund shows interest in grounded airline

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) of grounded airline Jet Airways decided to extend the deadline for submission of bids to 10 March on Tuesday as a new entity has evinced interest in the airline, according to a source.

The deadline for submitting the bids for Jet Airways, which is undergoing insolvency process, ended on Monday.

The deadline for submitting the bids for #jetairways , which is undergoing insolvency process, ended on Monday. #aviation https://t.co/cJwhEuapr1

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“A team from Far East Asia Development Fund of Russia along with Enso group met the CoC on Monday and has expressed interest in Jet Airways,” the source said to PTI.

Against this backdrop, the CoC extended the deadline for submission of bids to 10 March.

Ashish Chhawchharia, the resolution professional for Jet Airways, was not available for comments.

Set up in 2011, the Far East Development Fund is a state finance development institution which warrants a flexible approach to projects’ structuring and financing, as per its Linkedin profile.

Mumbai-headquartered Enso Group has reportedly been roped in by the fund to find an Indian partner to form a consortium that would later put in a formal bid. It has interests in diverse sectors, including oil and gas, metal mining, healthcare, infrastructure and real estate, as per its website.

Earlier, South American conglomerate Synergy Group and New Delhi-based Prudent ARC were given time to submit resolution plan. Reportedly, they failed to meet the deadline.

The cash-strapped airline, which was grounded in April 2019, owes more than Rs 8,000 crore to banks, with those from the public sector having significant exposure.

Jet Airways has attracted a slew of bidders. Early last month, Synergy Group, which owns majority shares in airlines including Colombian carrier Avianca Holdings, had submitted a fresh expression of interest (EoI) for investing in the bankrupt Jet Airways, reported The Economic Times.

In December last year, Synergy Group had sought more time to take a decision on investing in the grounded airline.

In December 2019, the UK-based Hinduja Group yet again expressed interest to buy Jet Airways.

The Hinduja Group had plans to submit an expression of interest by the 15 January 2020 deadline, signalling its intent to make a formal offer. However, in January this year, the group reportedly withdrew as it did not find any value in the company.

In May 2019, there were reports that Hinduja Group was planning to initiate the bidding process for Jet Airways. The business group and Etihad Airways were also expected to meet on 23 May, 2019 to explore ways to revive the cash-starved airline.

However, the Hinduja Group and Etihad Airways failed to strike a deal for joint ownership of Jet Airways.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) sought extension of corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of Jet Airways from the Mumbai bench of the NCLT in view of South America’s Synergy Group wanting more time for due diligence and two new interests being shown for the grounded airline.

On 17 December, the Aviation Ministry and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had informed the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that they would positively consider any concrete business plan for the grounded Jet Airways.

The airline owes over Rs 8,500 crore to a consortium of 26 banks led by State Bank, and over Rs 13,000 crore to the tens of hundreds of vendors and around 23,000-odd employees.

Lenders to Jet Airways, led by the State Bank of India (SBI), are seeking investors in Jet to recover their dues. The airline’s total liability, including unpaid salaries and vendor dues, is nearly Rs 15,000 crore.

--With inputs from agencies