SpiceJet, 2 other entities show interest in acquiring Go First: Report

Homegrown budget airline SpiceJet, along with two more entities, Africa-focused Safrik Investments and Sharjah-based aviation company Sky One, have reportedly expressed interest in acquiring beleaguered carrier Go First. Their interest comes weeks after the deadline for making proposals passed and lenders started considering Go First’s liquidation.

According to a report in The Economic Times, the resolution professional (RP) who is managing Go First’s corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) Shailendra Ajmera received requests from these three entities in the past 10 days to conduct due diligence. As per the report, all of the three entities have sought an extension of the deadline.

The report added that the committee of creditors will now meet to decide if an extension can be granted.

Lenders have been contemplating liquidation after they did not receive any bids till the last date for submission of bids, November 22. As per earlier reports, lenders believed they failed to find any buyers due to Go First’s legal and operational issues. The options they had after November 22 was to extend the deadline or proceed towards liquidation.

Jindal Steel and Power promoter Naveen Jindal’s expression of interest (EOI), the only preliminary inquiry to make it as a bidder did not translate into a final bid as he neither bid nor asked for an extension of the timeline.

Meanwhile, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has extended the corporate insolvency resolution process of the cash-strapped airline by 90 days till February 4, 2024, after the six-month moratorium period ended on November 6. The NCLT has asked the embattled airline to submit an action plan within the stipulated period of time. The tribunal said that if the airline fails to complete the resolution process in this 90-day period, it would initiate the liquidation process of the company.

Go First is seeking more than $1 billion from Pratt & Whitney (P&W) in the arbitration proceedings in Singapore, and blamed it for supplying faulty engines that were not replaced on time. This, Go First argued, led them to ground half of their fleet, pushing them towards bankruptcy.

Also read: NCLT extends Go First's moratorium period till Feb 4, demands resolution plan within 90 days

Also read: Go First might move towards liquidation; airline yet to find bidder: Report