NEW DELHI: As many as three players are said to have submitted Expressions of Interest (EoIs) in bidding for the bankrupt Jet Airways before the extended deadline ended at 4 pm on Saturday.
Sources said that Panama-based Avantulo Group and two foreign PE firms have submitted EoIs for Jet Airways. UK-based Hinduja Group and Jet’s partner Etihad Airways are learnt to have decided not to submit initial bids.
The resolution professional Ashish Chhawchharia, managing the bankruptcy proceedings, had extended the deadline from August 3 to August 10 to “ensure the objectives of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) are achieved”.
Sources had previously said that Chhawchharia had received EoIs from a couple of parties before the August 3 deadline, but extended the deadline to give additional time to Etihad Airways to join in.
SBI Capital Markets, which is advising the lenders, had contacted some 20 potential investors, but sources said most had shown little interest.
The stipulated deadline for submitting resolution plans is September 5, and the plan is expected to be submitted to the NCLT for approval on September 20. There are high possibilities that this may, however, be delayed.
Last month, Chhawchharia had floated EoIs for selling stake in the airline. This came after the Mumbai bench of NCLT initiated insolvency proceedings against Jet on June 20, following an application moved by the State Bank of India.
The SBI-led lenders had taken over the rump of the airline on March 25 with 51 per cent combined stake. The airline itself stopped flying on April 17.Jet owes over Rs 8,500 crore to the banks. However, the RP has received claims worth over Rs 25,500 crore on Jet as of July 4.
The assets up for sale include 14 aircraft, including 10 Boeing planes, 49 per cent stake in Jet Privilege and a few buildings. Lenders have also listed spares, slots and routes as assets.