GO FIRST LENDERS MULL LIQUIDATION AFTER RECENT COURT ORDER ON PLANES, SAY SOURCES

Lenders to India’s Go First are all set to meet this week to explore various options for the bankrupt airline, such as liquidation, following a court order that allowed lessors to reclaim their planes, two bankers with Go First’s creditors stated on Tuesday.

After the court’s decision, the airline seems to have lost all its worth, and there’s very little hope for it to bounce back, stated one of the banker

Debt burden and creditor details

The airline has debts amounting to 65.21 billion rupees ($780.88 million), owed to creditors such as Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, and Deutsche Bank.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) met on Monday, and they’re scheduled to meet again on Thursday, according to both sources

The two bankers preferred not to be named as they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Bids received through bankruptcy process

Reuters previously reported that Go First has received two bids through the formal bankruptcy process. One bid comes from a consortium, which includes Ajay Singh, the managing director of budget carrier SpiceJet, along with Busy Bee Airways. The second bid originates from Sky One, based in Sharjah.

Jaideep Mirchandani, Chairman of Sky One, stated that despite the deregistration of leased planes, the company is ready to utilize its own assets and resources to revitalize the airline in case its bid is successful.

“Our extensive experience as lessors and our comprehensive portfolio of aviation services uniquely position us to address the challenges and opportunities presented by Go First’s situation,” Mirchandani said in an emailed response to Reuters.

There was no response to emails seeking comment from Ajay Singh and Nishant Pitti, the majority shareholder of Busy Bee, as reported by Reuters

According to the second banker, lenders retain the option to reject the current bids as they are dissatisfied with the offered amounts from both applicants.

The banker mentioned that the bids incorporate the value of a piece of land offered as collateral by the airline’s promoters.

Both bankers stated that while liquidation appears to be the most feasible option given the current circumstances, a vote on this matter will be conducted once the committee officially rejects the two offers or if the applicants withdraw their bids.

2024-04-30T18:44:39Z dg43tfdfdgfd