The chances of Go Air recovering after its hefty losses and grounded flights are seeming even more bleak as Naveen Jindal, the only billionaire interested in buying out the airlines, has now backed out of the bidding for the same.
Troubles seem to be mounting for Go Airlines Ltd, with no paychecks for the staff from the last six months and the sudden resignation of CEO Kaushik Khona, who said that he would not be able to get the flights back up and running before he stepped down.
On Friday, Go announced in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that it cancelled all scheduled flights until February 4, extending a grounding that began in May. While the company has filed an application for revival of all services, it is expected that the end is near for Go Air, unless a surprise bidder emerges.
If Go collapses for good, it would be the 12th Indian airline to do so this century, despite all having a vast and increasingly mobile population at their door.
Further, Naveen Jindal-led Jindal Powers Ltd, which was the only multi-billion dollar venture open for a buyout, has now backed out from bidding for the grounded airlines, reported Bloomberg.
Why did Naveen Jindal back out of bidding for Go Air
Earlier, local media reports said that Naveen Jindal’s firm Jindal Powers is highly interested in bidding for Go Air while the airline is under its insolvency process. However, the billionaire has since retracted his interest.
In October, Jindal Power stated that it is “not very serious” about the expression of interest (EOI) it submitted to estimate the valuation of Go First. The company said that they are not looking to expand into the airline business.
Later, Bloomberg reported that Jindal couldn’t assess Go’s value because it is unclear how many planes it would have after the aviation regulator signaled its aircraft should be returned to lessors. After this, Jindal indicated that it would not be bidding for Go Air.
Go’s creditors, including state-run Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Deutsche Bank AG, may sell assets in a piecemeal fashion, lawyer Sandeep Bajaj told Bloomberg, since the resolution process seems to be going nowhere.
