Jet Airways rejects bid by consortium with UAE links

A takeover bid of India's bankrupt Jet Airways by a consortium of the UAE and London-based business groups has not been successful in the first round, the airline sources said.
In a regulatory filing, the resolution professional (RP) of Jet Airways, which is under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code process, clarified the status of the bidding by UAE-based businessman Murari Lal Jalan, who heads MJ Developers, and UK's Kalrock Capital.
The clarification came after the media reported that the consortium had been chosen as the winner for Jet Airways, India's oldest private carrier, stopped operations in April 2019 amid severe cash crunch and piling debt, and was dragged to India's bankruptcy court by its lenders, to whom it owed more than Rs80 billion.
Ashish Chhawchharia, the RP for Jet Airways, said that the committee of creditors has not concluded e-voting on the final resolution plans submitted by the two shortlisted bidders.
The clarification added that the Kalrock-Jalan consortium has intimated the resolution professional that it has not made any statement claiming to have been chosen as the successful resolution applicant.
According to the proposed resolution plan, the consortium had submitted plans to infuse close to Rs10 billion in the defunct airline over the next five years, and was ready to give collateral of Rs2.5 billion as security. It also promised cash to lenders from year three onwards irrespective of what happens to the airline. Lenders were offered 9.5 per cent equity during the restructuring period, according to earlier reports.
Other bidders in the fray included the Haryana-based Flight Simulation Technique Centre, Mumbai's Big Charter and Abu Dhabi's Imperial Capital Investments. South American conglomerate Synergy Group and New Delhi-based Prudent ARC were also among Jet Airways suitors but could not come up with any concrete resolution plan ahead of the February 17 deadline.
Jalan, whose interest spans diverse sectors like real estate, mining, trading, construction, FMCG, travel and tourism, has investments in the UAE, India, Russia and Uzbekistan, among other places.
Kalrock is a global firm operating in financial advisory and alternative asset management, managing significant partners' assets across a number of clearly defined and diversified strategies and single investments, with focus on private markets.
issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com