Hardening their stance, Kingfisher Airlines’ lenders have sought UB group Chairman Vijay Mallya to personally spell out the airline’s revival plan by the end of this month, failing which they would take a call on their next step.
The consortium of banks, comprising 17 lenders with a total debt exposure of about Rs.7,500 crore, met in Mumbai on Wednesday but the meeting remained inconclusive as the Kingfisher senior officials present at the meting failed to impress the lenders.
Not so satisfied with a presentation made by Kingfisher Airlines CEO Sanjay Aggrawal and UB group CFO A. K. Ravi Nedungadi, the lenders wanted to know from Mr. Mallya himself as to how the airline would repay the debt and how the promoters could provide more comforts to the lenders. “We have requested that Chairman Vijay Mallya make a presentation on the detailed roadmap and then we can decide. We want more clarity as to how the business is moving forward. No further extension will be given after Mallya makes a presentation by this month-end,” a banker who attended the meeting told reporters. “We are fast-tracking the process for valuing the non-core assets of Kingfisher, and we will take a call on whether to sell those assets after Mr. Mallya’s presentation,” he said.
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Alternative security
Banks are eying Kingfisher House in Mumbai and Kingfisher Villa in Goa which have been given as security towards the loan. But the UB group has approached the banks to replace these two assets with some alternative security. “No additional funds will be given unless we are satisfied. We want to strengthen our security on loan repayment,” said another banker present at the meeting. The banks will now ask for more collateral from the promoters at their next meeting.