One of the two bidders for bankrupt Indian airline Go First has increased its offer in response to a nudge from lenders, two banking sources and a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
According to one source, the consortium, which comprises SpiceJet's managing director Ajay Singh and Busy Bee Airways, raised the bid amount from Rs 100 crore ($12.06 million) to Rs 150 crore. The original bid totaled Rs 1,600 crore.
The sources want not to be identified since they were not allowed to speak to the media.
Emails from Reuters to Go First's resolution professional, who oversees the bankruptcy process, Singh, Spicejet, and Busy Bee majority shareholder Nishant Pitti did not receive an instant answer. Pitti is the CEO of the online travel platform EaseMyTrip.
Go First, which filed for bankruptcy in May of last year, received two financial bids as part of the bankruptcy process, the second of which was made by Sharjah-based Sky One Airways, Reuters reported.
"The bid amount in both offers was far below the expectations of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) and would involve a deep haircut, which is why both bidders were asked to revise their offer upwards," said a banker from a state-run bank with exposure to Go First.
Its bankruptcy case names Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank, and Deutsche Bank as creditors to whom it owes a total of Rs 6,521 crore.
According to the banker, the CoC is in talks with Sky One via the resolution professional. Sky One Airways did not immediately return a request for comment. The second banker said Ajay Singh and Busy Bee's joint bid will be reviewed at the next CoC meeting, which is expected to take place early next week. The lenders are scheduled to respond to bidders by March 28, according to the banker.
