State Bank of India Chairman Rajnish Kumar told IANS he expects to have clarity regarding the future of Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai International) by May 26, 2019.
"Various options are being evaluated. Legal opinion is being taken. There are many investors who are showing interest. We have to see whether they have the money and the wherewithal. I think the clarity should emerge in a week's time," Kumar said.
The bank, which leads the consortium of creditors soliciting bids for the grounded carrier, has received a single binding bid from a previously shortlisted investor, namely Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International). The offer is, however, highly conditional and contingent on other investors joining the Emirati carrier. SBI has also received a number of other bids from non-shortlisted investors.
London-based investment firm AdiGroup, headed by Sanjay Viswanathan, said it was willing to inject INR50-60 billion rupees (USD710-850 million) into the carrier and aimed to restart operations by July 1, 2019, with up to 70 aircraft. According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Jet Airways still has sixty-seven aircraft at its disposal with around as much already having been repossessed by lessors.
"We are actually giving equity upside. Our binding bid has an equity component for the lender group, which means that not only will they recover their money, but also get a significant upside once our turnaround plan is executed," Viswanathan told The Hindu.
Meanwhile, the authorities continue to distribute the carrier's slots and traffic rights to other airlines. The ANI newswire has quoted an unnamed Civil Aviation Ministry official as saying that the government will prioritise Air India (AI, Delhi International) in reallocating Jet Airways' international traffic rights, although other airlines' plans will also be taken into account.
Live Mint further reported that HDFC Bank put office space leased by Jet Airways in the prestigious Jet Airways Godrej BKC building in Mumbai on an auction. The carrier defaulted on a INR4.2 billion rupee (USD60 million) loan to the bank. The building was developed by Godrej Properties on land owned by Jet Airways and in partnership with the carrier, although office space was also let to other tenants.
