Wadia Group likely to entirely exit or offload significant stake in loss-making Go First: Report

The 18-year old airline made its highest annual financial loss to date in FY22.

Loss-making Go First is likely to get new owners as current ones - the Wadia Group - have begun talks with strategic partners to either sell a significant stake in or entirely exit the airline, top officials close to the development told The Economic Times.

The Wadia Group, which owns the loss-making 18-year-old budget carrier Go First, has begun talks with strategic partners to either sell a significant stake in or entirely exit the airline, sources told the paper.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

Go First made its highest annual financial loss to date in FY22. It has also been tackling huge operational issues in the past few months as half of its aircraft have been grounded due to supply chain disruptions pertaining to Pratt & Whitney (P&W) jet engines.

In FY23, the domestic carrier took at least two loans worth Rs 203.5 crore under the government’s Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme to deal with its cash crunch.

This is not the first time the Wadia Group has looked to offload a stake in the airline. According to a Financial Express report in 2018, the airline promoters had appointed a UK-based merchant bank to gauge buyers’ interest and be the transaction adviser for the deal if it materialises.