Jet Airways insolvency: Two bidders submit revised proposals

The deadline for Jet Airways corporate insolvency resolution process is October 21

Jet Airways insolvency process may have entered its last stage, with two bidders submitting revised proposals earlier this week.

The revised bids were submitted after several rounds of negotiations between the lenders and the two suitors. "Post the discussions, both contenders submitted revised bids. Unless the lenders ask for more revisions, we may get a decision within a fortnight," a senior executive told Moneycontrol.

State Bank of India was the lead lender to the airline. Overall, Jet Airways owes over Rs 8,000 crore to the banks. Total claims, including those from vendors and employees, amount to over Rs 25,000 crore.

The airline, which had suspended operations in April 2019, had received two bids on July 21. The first consortium was of Flight Simulation Technique Centre Pvt Ltd, Big Charter Pvt Ltd, and Imperial Capital Investments LLC. Both FSTC and Big Charter are led by aviator-turned-entrepreneur Sanjay Mandavia. Imperial Capital is an investment banking and wealth management company based in Dubai.

The second bid was from the consortium of London-based financial services firm Kalrock Capital and entrepreneur Murari Lal Jalan.

Both the consortiums are tight-lipped about the revised bids and declined to comment on the story. Sources, however, added that the two sides have made 'structural' changes to their proposals that could pertain to debt repayments.

Earlier, the deadline of August 21 for the insolvency process was extended. In a statement on August 20, Ashish Chhawchharia, the resolution professional overseeing the process, said the Committee of Creditors, consisting of Jet Airways lenders, were engaging with the two suitors to assess the feasibility and viability of their respective plans for the airline.

"Once this assessment is complete, the CoC shall vote on the resolution plans... For any plan to be considered approved, it will need to secure the votes of at least 60 percent of the CoC members," the resolution professional said.

Meanwhile, the airline has sold real estate in Mumbai, worth $65 million. It later paid the US Exim Bank to get titles to six Boeing 777 aircraft.