UAE-based Indian business man Murari Lal Jalan-led consortium announced depositing $12 million (Rs 1 billion) as payment to the lenders of the grounded Jet Airways, moving further close to the takeover and revival of the once number one Indian airline.
The payment followed India’s insolvency court – the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in an order early this week granting the Jalan-Kalrock Consortium (JKC) time till September 30 to pay Rs 3.5 billion to Jet Airways’ lenders.
“JKC confirms to have deposited Rs 1 billion (Rs 100 crores) in Jet Airways in less than 48 hours of the NCLAT allowing implementation of revival plans,” the consortium said in a statement released late Thursday evening.
“With this infusion, JKC has now invested Rs 2.5 billion in Jet Airways and now is only required to fund the remaining Rs 1 billion by September 30, 2023, to take control of the iconic airline, Jet Airways,” the statement added.
The airline’s lenders – called the Committee of Creditors (CoC) – had approved the resolution plan jointly submitted by Dubai-based businessmen Murari Lal Jalan and German serial entrepreneur Florian Fritsch in October 2020.
But what was supposed to be a major test of the country’s Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, instead turned into an acrimonious legal battle between the consortium and the CoC over the infusion of funds.
Having deposited the performance bank guarantee with the lenders, JKC had maintained that any further infusion would be possible only after the transfer of ownership of the airline.
The next hearing in NCLAT on the matter is due on October 4.
The consortium had earlier targeted September 2023 for recommencing Jet Airways operations.
Although comebacks in the aviation sector are rare, experts said there was a scope for another carrier in the world’s fastest-growing airline market.
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