Will provide Rs 425 crore required for partial restart: KFA

Kingfisher Airlines has apparently told the 17-bank consortium that it does not require any more funds and added only Rs 425 crore was required to resume partial operations, reports CNBC-TV18's Gopika Gopakumar.

Kingfisher Airlines is likely to restart partial operations by February 2013. This was announced at the meeting between the Kingfisher management including Vijay Mallya, along with 16-17 lenders.
Vijay Mallya assured the lenders that he will be bringing in Rs 425 crore to fund resumption of partial operations. Bankers continue to maintain the stance of refusing any fresh funding to restart operations.
But the top banks, which have the highest exposure to Kingfisher including the State Bank of India (SBI), the Bank of India, the Bank of Baroda and IDBI, will form a group and look at the viability of this revival plan.
On the commencement of operations, the bankers promised to formulate another restructuring package for the company.
Meanwhile, Kingfisher will be in discussions with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) regarding the revival plan and attempt to revoke the suspension of the licence. Talks are also on with private equity investors and the Diageo, and it remains unclear whether Kingfisher will bring in any fresh funding from the sale of stake to Diageo. Vijay Mallya has mentioned that he is currently in talks with foreign investors.
Shyamal Acharya, deputy MD - associates and subsidiaries, SBI said, "They have a plan to restart operations. It is most important for Kingfisher to start flying. Only if it starts flying, will the money start to flow in. The plan for ‘limited restart’ depends on certain clearances. So, a small group of the bankers has been constituted to discuss the nitty-gritties and act quickly to ensure the company starts flying. No additional financing has been so far announced. The promoters will provide funds on their own."