A day after showing intent to invest in troubled Jet Airways, Anil Agarwal-led Volcan Investments has withdrawn all efforts in the matter. In a statement released on Monday, the investment company said that it took the decision to back away from Jet based on its evaluations and other priorities.
"The EoI for Jet Airways by Volcan was exploratory in nature. On further evaluation and considering other priorities, we intend to not pursue this further," Volcan Investments said in its latest statement.
Volcan Investments, the investment company under Vedanta Limited Chairman Anil Agarwal's family trust, had sought expression of interest (EoI) to understand the business scenario for Jet Airways and the industry. The EoI was kept separate from Vedanta. Volcan and Vedanta Resources are the parent companies of Vedanta Ltd which holds Cairn India Holdings.
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Volcan Investments owns 100% stake in Vedanta Resources which is London based and owns 50.1% in Vedanta India. Volcan also owns 21% of Anglo American which is a globally diversified mining business comprising De Beers, Platinum, Copper and other precious metals, coal, iron ore and nickel.
Jet Airways has liabilities over Rs 26,000 crore and is facing bankruptcy proceedings. The airline's dues include more than Rs 10,000 crore of vendor dues, Rs 8,500 crore along with interest owed to the lenders, over Rs 3,000 crore in salary dues, and over Rs 13,500 crore in accumulated losses over the past three years.
Debt-laden Jet Airways has received only three Expressions of Interest (EoIs) for its stake sale. Etihad Airways, which owns 24 per cent stake in Jet, has said that it will not express interest in reinvesting in the bankrupt airline because of unresolved issues concerning the Indian airline's liabilities.
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Meanwhile, Panama-based Avantulo Group has reportedly forwarded its EoI submission.
"Three bids have been received but Etihad Airways did not submit bids this time around," a bank source told the news agency.
These three EoIs will be examined by resolution professional (RP) Ashish Chhawchharia to verify their eligibility. He was appointed by India's bankruptcy court on June 20 this year after it directed insolvency proceedings against Jet Airways. The final bids are to be submitted by September 12.
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