The Kalrock Capital-Murari Lal Jalan consortium (JKC), owners of Jet Airways (Mumbai International), have reportedly scored a courtroom victory, with India's National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) clearing the way for their takeover of the airline after ongoing creditor resistance.
The consortium went back to the NCLT late last year to get orders to finalise the ownership transfer after months of wrangling with creditors, including a powerful syndicate of banks, regarding payments, due dates, and interpretations of previous NCLT orders. Jet Airways ceased flying in April 2019, and the NCLT approved JKC's acquisition of the airline in June 2021, with the consortium agreeing to put fresh equity into the airline and pay a portion of the outstanding debts. In exchange, the creditors would sign a release certificate allowing JFC to relaunch the airline. However, disputes over the agreed payments have seen the creditors, including the banking syndicate led by the State Bank of India, refuse to sign the certificate, and the airline remains firmly on the ground.
But according to Reuters, the NCLT has come back with an as-yet unpublished decision that favours JKC. The decision sets a new November 16, 2022, effective date of ownership. That date is the start gun for a six-month period within which JFC must settle its agreed payments to creditors. Disputes over just when the effective date of ownership occurred have been the source of ongoing disputes between the consortium and the creditors. After the NCLT decision is officially handed down, creditors are expected to meet to determine their response. If they agree to the outcome, JKC is positioned to move ahead with relaunching Jet Airways.
ch-aviation has approached Jet Airways and the legal representative of the creditor syndicate for comment.
