MUMBAI:
Debt-laden Kingfisher
Airlines indicated for the first time its willingness to sell a plush villa
in Goa to pay off a part of its debt, but lenders to
the stricken airline insisted on more contribution from the promoters before
parting with more money.
Bankers participating in a meeting of 17 bankers to the airline in Mumbai on Thursday asked the Kingfisher management to pay fees on the guarantees and letter of credit which is due for renewal. They also asked the management to come up with concrete plan on settling their dues.
The management, represented by CEO Sanjay Aggarwal and UB Group chief financial officer Ravi Nedungadi, told the banks that they would not be able to pay any money immediately. Talks are going on with private and foreign players to secure equity funding, they added.
Kingfisher has shut most of its operations after a severe cash squeeze left it with little money to pay for fuel, aircraft leases and salaries. It has fewer than 20 aircraft at its disposal and many of its employees are looking for work as salaries have not been paid for more than six months.
It has borrowed more than Rs 7,500 crore and failed to pay on time. Most banks have classified the account as a sub-standard loan, which is a loan on which the borrower has defaulted. The management has offered to liquidate some of the pledged property such as the villa in Goa and the corporate office in Mumbai to repay part of the loans. The sale of both the buildings could fetch Rs 120-130 crore, they added.
"We are not happy with the interaction with company officials. The pledge property is valued at 130 at best while the outstanding loan is to the tune of Rs 7,500 crore," said a senior banker who was part of the meeting.
"The meeting was scheduled as an update meeting and there was no discussion on commencement of recovery proceedings. Kingfisher House has been lying vacant after the staff moved to our new offices at The Qube in Mumbai, and at that time itself, on our own accord, we approached the banks with a proposal to liquidate this unutilised asset and at today's (Thursday's) meeting we raised the issue of this pending approval," a statement from Kingfisher said.
Bankers participating in a meeting of 17 bankers to the airline in Mumbai on Thursday asked the Kingfisher management to pay fees on the guarantees and letter of credit which is due for renewal. They also asked the management to come up with concrete plan on settling their dues.
The management, represented by CEO Sanjay Aggarwal and UB Group chief financial officer Ravi Nedungadi, told the banks that they would not be able to pay any money immediately. Talks are going on with private and foreign players to secure equity funding, they added.
Kingfisher has shut most of its operations after a severe cash squeeze left it with little money to pay for fuel, aircraft leases and salaries. It has fewer than 20 aircraft at its disposal and many of its employees are looking for work as salaries have not been paid for more than six months.
It has borrowed more than Rs 7,500 crore and failed to pay on time. Most banks have classified the account as a sub-standard loan, which is a loan on which the borrower has defaulted. The management has offered to liquidate some of the pledged property such as the villa in Goa and the corporate office in Mumbai to repay part of the loans. The sale of both the buildings could fetch Rs 120-130 crore, they added.
"We are not happy with the interaction with company officials. The pledge property is valued at 130 at best while the outstanding loan is to the tune of Rs 7,500 crore," said a senior banker who was part of the meeting.
"The meeting was scheduled as an update meeting and there was no discussion on commencement of recovery proceedings. Kingfisher House has been lying vacant after the staff moved to our new offices at The Qube in Mumbai, and at that time itself, on our own accord, we approached the banks with a proposal to liquidate this unutilised asset and at today's (Thursday's) meeting we raised the issue of this pending approval," a statement from Kingfisher said.
Most
banks are unwilling to give more money since the account is already classified
as a bad loan and fresh lending will be viewed as window dressing - an attempt
to cover stress assets.
No comments:
Post a Comment