Jet Airways crisis: Hinduja Group, Etihad Airways likely to bid for debt-laden airline via IBC route; Tata, Qatar Airways keen to join race too

Nearly a month after they put on hold their plan to buy a stake in Jet Airways, a consortium of Hinduja Group and Etihad Airways is expected to bid for the now-grounded airline under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), said a media report. The Hinduja Group and Etihad Airways may take part in the  IBC process and both have reached out to the interim resolution professional in this regard, reported Moneycontrol citing sources aware of the development. On the other hand, Tata Group is looking at the possibility of a potential bid in Jet Airways though the former is yet to finalise the move. Qatar Airways is also expected to join the race for Jet Airways stake acquisition if the state-owned flag carrier of Qatar is able to find out a suitable local partner, the report said. [caption id=“attachment_94954” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Jet Airways aircraft. Reuters[/caption] Meanwhile, adding to the crisis of Jet Airways, its flying license has reportedly come under the lens of the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and it may scuttle the resolution process of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), said a report in Mint. Accordingly, the stake buyers are waiting for the final word from the DGCA, which is expected to be announced on 16 July, the report said quoting people in the know of the matter. On 23 June, the insolvency proceedings had been initiated against Jet Airways, which formally stopped flying on 17 April and saw lenders voting for bankruptcy earlier this month. The cash-strapped company became the first domestic airliner to go into bankruptcy after the Mumbai bench of the NCLT admitted an insolvency petition filed by State Bank of India (SBI) on behalf of 26 lenders on June 20. On 25 June, the resolution professional for Jet Airways invited claims from all creditors to the grounded airline. 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. After the mid of last month,  the lenders to Jet Airways had reportedly picked Ashish Chhawchharia of Grant Thornton India as the resolution professional for the airline’s bankruptcy proceedings. On 11, June, it was reported that Hinduja Group decided to halt negotiations for buying a stake in Jet Airways while Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways put its plan on hold to invest further. Hinduja Group withdrew from the stake buy move because the promoters of the business conglomerate had expressed concerns over the ongoing government investigations into Jet Airways and insolvency pleas submitted by its creditors.