Grounded debt-ridden Indian airline Jet Airways has received expressions of interest (EoIs) from three interested parties – two financial investors and another global company, according to airline industry sources.
Panama-based Avantulo Group is said to be one of parties which has submitted the EoI, while Etihad Airways is understood to have not submitted an EoI.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways holds 24 percent equity stake in Jet Airways.
When contacted, an Etihad official spokesperson told Arabian Business: “This process is being managed by the resolution professional. We have no comment at this time.”
The Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) for Jet Airways, appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the judicial authority for resolution of stressed assets in India, had set the deadline of 4pm on Saturday for submission of EoIs
The IRP is to evaluate the EoIs to decide on the eligibility of the investors, with a shortlist expected in a week’s time.
“The shortlisted investors will then be asked to bid for the airline,” M R Rajaram, a leading financial consultant, who is familiar with the resolution process under NCLT, told Arabian Business.
SBI Capital Markets, which is advising the State Bank of India-led lenders’ consortium to the grounded airline in the process of finding new investors for the carrier, is understood to have reached out to several potential investors, including overseas airlines and private equity investors.
Jet Airways, which, until a year ago, was India’s leading private airline with a vast network of international operations, most of it to the Middle East region, was admitted for insolvency proceedings on June 20 by the Mumbai bench of NCLT.
The debt-ridden airline is estimated to be facing a total claim of about $3.5 billion.
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