Airliners-India.com

747-237 · Posted: Mon Aug 21, 2023 3:23 pm Post subject:

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/130928-sale-of-ex-jet-airways-b777s-to-ace-aviation-remains-on-hold

Sale of ex-Jet Airways B777s to Ace Aviation remains on hold

21.08.2023

A bid by Malta's Ace Aviation VIII Ltd to buy three parked B777-300ERs belonging to Jet Airways has hit a roadblock after India's National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) declined to approve the transaction until the airline's ownership change is finalised.

ACE approached the appellate court after the Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) rejected an application to purchase the planes in July. Counsel for ACE, Ritin Rai, told the courts a letter of intent to buy the aircraft for INR4 billion Indian rupees (USD48.1 million) had been signed by his client and the Jet Airways' creditor's committee, with a INR500 million (USD6 million) deposit already paid.

But both the NCLT and NCLAT agreed that the sale of the aircraft could not be considered until the ownership of the airline was settled. In late 2020, the Jalan-Kalrock consortium (JKC) won a bid to buy Jet Airways, which had ceased operations in 2019. In mid-2021, the NCLT approved a resolution plan, which would see the JKC pay creditors some of the monies owed to them and recapitalise the airline, in exchange for ownership transferring to them.

Owing to ongoing disputes between the creditor's committee and JKC, this process is yet to get underway, despite multiple interventions and time extensions from the NCLT. Most recently, the creditors' committee agreed to back down on a push to invalidate the resolution plan and wind up the airline if JKC paid them INR3.5 billion Indian rupees (USD42.2 million) by an August 31 deadline.

This particular matter relates to a successful bid in late 2022 by Ace Aviation VIII Ltd to buy three ex-Jet Airways B777s in an auction run by the Jet Airway's monitoring committee. According to a Business Standard report, a Belgian cargo airline - Challenge Airlines BE (X7, Liège) - owns the Ace Aviation VIII Ltd entity. The transaction was due to finalise by the end of 2022, with Ace paying the deposit. However, the Jet Airways' monitoring committee, which had managed the auction, reportedly stopped responding to communications from Ace.

Rai told the NCLAT last week that the JKC's resolution plan indicated they have no intention of using previous Jet Airways aircraft in any relaunch. But lawyers for the consortium were back in court earlier this year trying to block the sale. That legal bid culminated in July's NCLT ruling, which became the subject of this most recent appeal.

While the NCLAT has refused to entertain any aircraft ownership transfer application while ownership of the airline remains uncertain, the August 31 deadline for JKC to pay creditors is shaping up as crunch time. The consortium has recently said it can meet all financial commitments per the original resolution plan and is well capitalised. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation recently re-issued it a temporary air operator's certificate to help clear some administrative hurdles the airline faces. The NCLAT has re-listed ACE's aircraft application for hearing on September 6, saying there should be more clarity on the airline's ownership by then.
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747-237 · Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2023 11:44 am Post subject:

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/135484-jkc-loses-appeal-to-hold-onto-jet-airways-b777s

JKC loses appeal to hold onto Jet Airways' B777s

28.12.2023

Three B777-300ERs belonging to Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai International) will be sold to special purpose vehicles (SPVs) controlled by the Challenge Group after a failed appeal to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) by the consortium attempting to acquire the airline.

The bankruptcy appeals court handed down its decision in the matter of The Consortium of Murari Lal Jalan & Florian Fritsch vs. Ace Aviation VII Ltd. & Ors on December 22, 2023, after the consortium (JKC) appealed an October order by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for Jet Airways' monitoring committee to honour a 2022 agreement for Ace Aviation to buy the three aircraft.

Last week, the NCLAT also dismissed a bid by the All India Jet Airways Officers and Staff Association to thwart the sale, saying it would not be in the interests of Jet Airways to keep holding onto the grounded aircraft - VT-JEV (msn 35158), VT-JES (msn 35159), and VT-JEM (msn 25162) - all three of which are stored at Mumbai International.

"We're pleased with the NCLAT's decision to allow the sale of Jet Airways aircraft to Ace Aviation," said Challenge Group CEO Eshel Heffetz after last week's ruling. "Our confidence in the court process remains steadfast, and we believe that it will facilitate the completion of the sale."

"We are studying the judgement and after studying the detailed judgment we will decide on our options accordingly," a Jet Airways spokesperson told ch-aviation.

The NCLT awarded JKC the right to acquire Jet Airways after it collapsed in April 2019. Initially, the consortium said they had no interest in retaining the B777-300ERs, preferring to secure new aircraft when they relaunch. However, relaunch plans have not gone smoothly, and JKC has changed tact, arguing in favour of retaining the aircraft. The employees' union said that the aircraft should not be sold until their owed dues, such as gratuity and provident funds, were paid. However, the NCLAT said the sale proceeds would go into an escrow account for distribution per the agreed NLCT-approved resolution plan.

Ace Aviation VII Ltd, Ace Aviation IX Ltd, Ace Aviation X Ltd, the State Bank of India, JC Flower Asset Reconstruction Pvt Ltd, Punjab National Bank, and Ashish Chhawchharia were all named as respondents in JKC's appeal. The three Ace SPVs are controlled by Challenge Airlines MT (X6, Malta International), a subsidiary of Challenge Group. Heffetz said he hopes to finalise the acquisition as soon as possible "to prevent any loss in asset value as the longer sale process would deteriorate the aircraft's condition further and impact the commercial viability of the deal." His Ace SPVs paid a USD4.6 million deposit on the aircraft in 2022.
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