According to people with knowledge of the situation, Wadia Group, the former promoter of Go First, plans to make an offer for the airline that was the first in the nation to be placed voluntarily under bankruptcy protection.
They said that the organization is in discussions with financial investors including alternative investment funds and private equity groups to make a joint bid for the airline. The final judgment is dependent on whether the grounded carrier is deemed airworthy once again.
Go First’s resolution specialist has requested investor expressions of interest (EOI) in the business. The deadline for submission of a bid under the EoI is August 9. Until the release of this inquiry, emails directed to the Wadia Group went unanswered.
However, others connected to the company claimed that lawyers’ opinions they had obtained confirmed that the former promoters were qualified to compete for the airline because they had not missed payments on their loans. Through numerous companies owned by Nusli Wadia and his family, the group held a 100% ownership stake in Go First.
Also read, Three Private Equity Firms Eye Rs 2,000-crore Adani Capital Buyout.
Eligibility Criteria for Wadia Group’s Partners:
A person or organization is disqualified to bid on an asset under Section 29A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) if they have been found to be willful defaulters or are the promoters of businesses that banks have designated as non-performing assets (NPAs).
“Neither the airline nor any other firm owned by the Wadia Group had defaulted at the time Go First had submitted a voluntary insolvency application to NCLT. The promoters are so eligible to submit a bid. Even if nothing is set in stone, we would like to investigate this, a Group official stated.
On May 3, the airline requested the opening of voluntary insolvency proceedings before the NCLT’s Mumbai branch, blaming the move on protracted delays in obtaining airworthy engines from the American engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney (PW). According to the airline’s plea filed with the court, its overall liabilities to all creditors, which include debts owed to banks, financial institutions, vendors, and aircraft lessors, totaled Rs 11,463 crore. Of this, Rs 6,521 crore was due to financial institutions by a group of creditors headed by the Central Bank of India.
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