Low-cost Indian airline Go First could be left without a buyer as India’s Jindal Power has failed to make a bid, despite an expression of interest having initially been accepted by creditors.
Once the country’s fifth largest scheduled airline, Go First filed for voluntary insolvency in May 2023, citing operational issues compounded by problems with the Pratt & Whitney GTF engines grounding about half its fleet of A320neos. According to Reuters, the airline had received claims worth 240 billion rupees ($2.9 billion) from operational and financial creditors as of July.
However, with the deadline to submit takeover bids ending on Tuesday, the only company to have expressed an interest – Indian power company Jindal Power – has decided against bidding after analysing the airline’s finances. “The expression of interest was largely to check the valuation of the airline and get access to the company’s data,” a source told The Indian Express.
The Committee of Creditors (including The Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank and Deutsche Bank) will meet next Wednesday to determine a future plan, with liquidation of the airline now looking likely.
Although the Indian government recently passed a ruling amending bankruptcy laws under the Indian Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), allowing lessors to repossess their aircraft in the event of insolvency, it’s unclear whether this might be applied retrospectively to Go First.