HDFC Ltd has decided to put a Mumbai-based prime office property of Jet Airways on sale after the beleaguered airline failed to repay Rs 415 crore in April.
The office in Mumbai's suburban financial centre Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), spread over 52,775 square foot carpet area, is a part of Jet Airways Godrej BKC, a 12-storey premium commercial building. The office will be auctioned on 15 May at a reserve or base price of Rs 245 crore.
The office was given as a collateral by Jet Airways on a loan whose payment was due on 15 April.
Grounded since 7 April, Jet Airways, which was until recently India’s second-largest airline, was shut down under the weight of roughly $1.2 billion debt, losses and severe cash crunch.
Meanwhile, Jet Airways’ employees have requested the Supreme Court to direct the State Bank of India (SBI), the lead lender to the airline, to release some funds for immediate needs. On Wednesday, they also staged a silent protest at the Mumbai International Airport, seeking government's intervention to resolve the crisis facing the airline.
On Tuesday, Naresh Goyal, founder of the airline, offered to infuse Rs 250 crore of his own funds in an attempt to revive the carrier, according to a Mint report.
As of now, the airline is on sale on behalf of the lenders, which took control of Jet Airways from Goyal in January, as part of their efforts to recover loans.
SBI Capital Markets, the investment banking arm of SBI, has shortlisted four investors for the airline -- private equity firms TPG Capital and Indigo Partners, the Indian government-anchored National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and the UAE's Etihad Airways, which already owns a minority stake in Jet.
However, given the extent of liabilities and very few assets on Jet Airways' balance sheet, the central government sees little hope of a bidder emerging for the debt-laden airline.
By a Business Standard report, Vistara is considering acquiring 16 planes of Jet Airways, including 10 Boeing 777 aircraft.
