Resolution Applicants get more time to submit final offer for Jet

Lenders had earlier asked the two parties for final offers the previous week, but post the meeting on Monday, both consortia have now been asked for their final offers by end of this week

Lenders to grounded airline company Jet Airways have yet again extended the deadline for the two shortlisted parties to revise their bids and come up with final offers. Earlier, lenders had asked the two parties to give their final offers the previous week, but post the meeting held on Monday, both the consortiums have now been asked to present their final offers by the end of this week. 

Time is running out for the beleaguered airline company as the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) is supposed to end on October 21. Hence, the Resolution Professional (RP) has to present a revival plan to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for approval before the CIRP deadline ends, provided that the plan first gets approved by the committee of creditors (CoC),

While the two parties submitted their respective bids in July itself, the lenders sought revisions in the bids, post reviewing them, which is causing the delay  in the revival process. Having said that, the resolution process of Jet Airways has reached the final stages, after almost one and a half years in the insolvency process. Once the final offers are laid on the table, the lenders post reviewing the bids, can put them to vote.

“The delay is because of the negotiations going on between the lenders and the consortiums. Hopefully, this will be the last extension given to the two consortiums. By the end of this week they will come up with the final offer, and then it will be taken up by the CoC for voting”, said a source aware of the development.

For any revival plan to pass the muster, it will have to secure 66 per cent of the votes of the lenders, who are part of the CoC. Once the resolution plan is approved by the majority of the committee of creditors, the resolution professional will move an application in the NCLT under Section 30 to get the approval of the tribunal. The provision under the code says that even the dissenting lenders are entitled to whatever is agreed in the resolution plan and should not be less than what they would have got under Section 53.

The CoC is emphasizing on getting better commercial terms and plans, which should comply with insolvency and bankruptcy provisions.
 

After receiving 12 expressions of interest in July, two consortiums made the cut to present a plan to revive the airline, almost eighteen months after it shut operations. The first consortium is led by Kalrock Capital and the second consortium is of Imperial Capital Investments LLC, Flight Simulation Technique Centre, and Big Charter.

Sources have said the bidders were seeking clarity from the Indian government on airport slots and traffic rights of Jet Airways. The airport slots and traffic rights of the airline company have been temporarily given to other airline companies. The resolution applicants have also raised concerns about the past litigations of the airline company.

The airline operated its last flight between Amritsar and Mumbai on April 17, 2019, as lenders turned down its demand for emergency funding. It has been under insolvency since June last with admitted claims of Rs 1,572.30 crore. The amount of claims received is to the tune of Rs 37,543 crore, of which financial creditors have claimed Rs 11,290 crore.