Jet Airways lenders may extend August 3 deadline for EoIs, get four bids

The lenders to the defunct Jet Airways on Thursday discussed the feasibility of extending the deadline for submitting expressions of interest for stake sale in the bankrupt airline having received four parties showing preliminary interest.

Late last month, the resolution professional Ashish Chhawchharia had floated EoIs for selling stake in the airline that stopped flying mid-April. The deadline for receipt of EoIs was kept as August 3.

"Bankers discussed about possibility of extending the deadline to receive EoIs," a banking source told PTI.  At least four investors have shown interest in the assets of the airline, he said.

Meanwhile, the lead banker to the company State Bank of India has approved a Rs 10 crore interim funding to the airline and other banks are also in the process of approving the same, he said.

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The lenders also discussed the criterion for evaluation of bids of the same amount, said another banker.  The issue of releasing one-month salary to the employees, as suggested by NCLT was also discussed at the meeting.

On July 23, NCLT judges VP Singh and Ravikumar Duraisamy, had asked Chhawchharia to discuss the salary concerns with the lenders.

The tribunal said even if 100 per cent cannot be paid some amount of the salaries have to be given as it is important for the survival of the employees.

The lenders, who had been owning the airline since March 25 with 51 percent stake, had on June 17 decided to take the airline, which stopped flying on April 17, to the NCLT as they could not find a buyer.

Early July RP had said he had received claims worth over Rs 25,500 crore as of July 4, including over Rs 200 crore from founder Naresh Goyal, submitted by the holding company of the airline JetAir, but was rejected.

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State Bank has made a claim of Rs 1,644 crore, including cash credit inclusive of interest, term loans and bank guarantees. Yes Bank has claimed Rs 1,084 crore, followed by PNB’s Rs 963 crore and IDBI Bank’s Rs 594 crore.

Operational creditors excluding workmen and employees have made a claim of Rs 12,372 crore, with the entire amount being under verification, while the workmen and employees have made a claim of Rs 443 crore which is also under verification.

Apart from this, authorised representatives of workmen and employees have made 11,965 claims of Rs 735 crore, he said, adding other creditors, including other financial creditors and operational creditors, have made 121 claims amounting to Rs 1,105 crore.