Jet Airways Gets Two Binding Bids In Fourth Round

Grounded carrier Jet Airways Ltd. received two binding bids from consortia led by financial investors in the fourth round of auctions under the insolvency proceedings, according to two people aware of the matter.

One of the bidders is a consortium led by Imperial Capital and includes Flight Simulation Technique Centre and Big Charter Pvt., the people said on the condition of anonymity as the bidding process is confidential.

The other is a consortium of U.K.-based Kalrock Capital and U.A.E. businessman Murari Lal Jalan. Kalrock Capital told BloombergQuint that it’s participating in the bidding process.

BloombergQuint emailed queries to Imperial Capital and Jet Airways resolution professional Ashish Chhawcharia late on Tuesday and awaits their responses.

Kalrock Capital is a financial investor, while Jalan has interests in real estate, mining, trading, construction, fast-moving consumer goods, dairy, travel and tourism and industrial works. His business interests are spread across the U.A.E., India, Russia and Uzbekistan.

Sanjay Mandavia, a former pilot, is the current chief executive officer of Flight Simulation Technique Centre and a director at Big Charter Pvt. The two entities formed a consortium with Imperial Capital Investments to participate in the bidding process.

Two other interested parties, Canadian investor Sivakumar Rasiah and Kolkata-based Alpha Airways, didn’t submit bids, the people said.

This is the fourth round of bidding for Jet Airways under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. Lenders will be reviewing the offers over the next few days and negotiate with the bidders if necessary. If a bidder is finalised and resolution plan is implemented, it would end a year-long struggle for Jet Airways.

The airline owes financial creditors Rs 8,232 crore and operational creditors more than Rs 7,300 crore, according to its website. In April 2019, Jet Airways was grounded after lenders failed to arrive at a restructuring plan. In June last year, the airline sought resolution under the bankruptcy route.