More than five years ago on an April evening, cash-starved Jet Airways announced temporary grounding of operations after flying as a full service airline for 25 years. Since then, more than 20,000 jobs and money worth thousands of crores owed to lenders, vendors and passengers evaporated while awaiting an insolvency resolution. And today, the Supreme Court ordered the airline's liquidation, marking the formal completion of a turbulent journey into the sunset and shattering lean revival hopes.
IL&FS group has discharged debt of Rs 38,082 crore to its creditors as of September 30, 2024, according to the latest status report affidavit filed by the debt-ridden firm before insolvency appellate tribunal NCLAT. "As on September 30, 2024, the total debt discharged to creditors of the Respondent No 1 (IL&FS) Group aggregates to Rs 38,082 crore," the status report said. This includes Rs 20,289 crore from monetisation of assets, Rs 8,140 crore from auto-debits, green entity principal servicing, NFB release and Rs 9,653 crore from interim distribution.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Monday upheld an NCLT order allowing crisis-hit Go First's voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings. A two-member NCLAT bench asked several aircraft lessors of Go First opposing insolvency, to approach National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for any remedy. "The order dated May 10, 2023 allowing insolvency is upheld," said the NCLAT bench headed by Chairperson Justice Ashok Bhushan.
The Resolution Professional (RP) of Future Retail Ltd (FRL) has filed an application before the NCLT against Kishore Biyani, his brother Rakesh Biyani and eight other entities alleging their involvement in a "fraudulent transaction" in the company. This application "has been filed pursuant to the findings in the report received from Nangia & Co. LLP, which was appointed as 'Transaction Review Auditor' by the RP," said a regulatory filing from Future Retail Ltd (FRL). The Transaction Review Auditor was to assist RP in his duties and the determination, wherein a transaction has been reported under Section 66 of the Code for adjudication by the NCLT.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has set aside the order of NCLT directing bourses NSE and BSE to reconsider their approval for the Zee-Sony merger. A two-member NCLAT bench has asked NCLT to consider the merger of Zee Entertainment with Culver Max Entertainment (earlier known as Sony Pictures Networks India) afresh, after hearing all the parties. The appellate tribunal order came on hearing the appeal filed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) against the order passed by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on May 11, 2023.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday questioned the maintainability of the insolvency plea filed against air carrier SpiceJet by one of its operational creditors Willis Lease Finance Corporation. A two-member NCLT bench comprising Members Mahendra Khandelwal and Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar observed that Willis Lease Finance Corporation has withdrawn its insolvency plea for the same dispute in March 2023 and has approached again with a new plea. The bench wanted to know as Willis Lease Finance Corporation, an aircraft lessor, had filed again for a similar cause of action within a few months.
To tackle increasing demand, the Union Ministry of Power has urged central and state public-sector power-generating companies (gencos) and state power and energy departments to pick projects that are undergoing insolvency proceedings. The power ministry is looking at a quicker turnaround of these stressed power plants and enhancing power supply. Increasing demand is pushing states to scout for more power sources. "It is requested that state-owned gencos may be encouraged to participate in the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of stressed power assets, which are of strategic and commercial significance to the capacity addition plans of the states concerned.
Coffee Day Global Ltd (CDGL) and its financial creditor IndusInd Bank have reached a settlement, following which NCLAT has set aside an insolvency order against the company which owns and operates coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day. Counsel representing CDGL and IndusInd bank on Wednesday informed the Chennai bench of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) about the settlement and sought permission to withdraw insolvency litigations. A two-member bench comprising Justice M Venugopal and Shreesha Merla took their submissions on record and set aside the order admitting CDGL to insolvency.
However, the tribunal rejected the plea by the Netherlands based vendors for filing an intervention application, saying the Dutch district court had no jurisdiction to order bankruptcy of Jet Airways.
The government plans to set up a national company law tribunal in a bid to streamline liquidation proceedings of companies.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has completed the merger of its media assets with the India business of global media house Walt Disney and formed a joint venture with a valuation of over Rs 70,000 crore. The JV will be one of the largest media and entertainment companies in India with a combined revenue of approximately Rs 26,000 crore and will be led by Nita Ambani as its chairperson, according to a joint statement.
The Delhi high court on Friday directed the civil aviation regulator to deregister planes leased to Go First within five working days, giving respite to the lessors. This means that the airline will have to give back all 54 aircraft to the lessors if its resolution professional (RP) does not challenge the order or ask for a stay. Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju also refused the request of the RP, represented by advocate Diwakar Maheshwari, to keep the operation of the order in abeyance for a week to enable them to file an appeal before the division Bench of the court.
Jet Airways owes more than Rs 8,000 crore to a consortium of banks led by the State Bank of India, which now run the airline, while it has a much larger debt pile by way of accumulated losses to the tune of Rs 13,000 crore and vendor dues of over Rs 10,000 crore and salary dues of over Rs 3,000 crore.
'When I called the HR department, they abused me.'
Cash-strapped edtech firm Byju's is likely to pay its employees the April salaries this week, according to sources. The company is grappling with the issue of delays in paying salaries to employees. "There has been a delay in salary. It is expected to be now paid sometime this week," said a person.
The Essar group hinted at challenging the verdict, citing last week's Supreme Court order that upheld the August 2018 amendment to the IBC law.
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Thursday allowed a petition filed by lenders of Reliance Capital seeking another round of auction for the debt-ridden firm undergoing insolvency process. A two-member bench set aside an order passed by NCLT and said the Committee of Creditors (CoC) has the power to negotiate and call for a higher bid. The appellate tribunal permitted the CoC to continue with the challenge mechanism and invite bids after two weeks.
In a significant verdict, the Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal's (NCLAT) verdict that had stopped insolvency proceedings against embattled ed-tech firm Byju's. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also reversed the order of the NCLAT approving Byju's Rs 158.9 crore dues settlement with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and directed the cricket board to deposit the settlement amount of Rs 158.9 crore with a committee of creditors.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) is seeking rapprochement with Sony Group as it makes a last-ditch effort to resurrect a $10 billion merger, according to industry sources. After the Japanese multinational firm pulled the plug on its $10 billion merger deal in January, the Indian company reached out again to Sony to reconsider the termination and offered for talks this month, a source said. On the other hand, Sony is understood to be evaluating the proposal from Zee.
Edtech firm Think and Learn, owner of Byju's brand, credited partial salaries of employees for the month of March, according to sources. Byju Raveendran, the Founder and CEO of Think and Learn, has raised debt in his personal capacity to pay the salaries of employees for March. Byju's salary expenses for partial payouts is estimated to be in the range of Rs 25-30 crore.
Diversified entity ITC on Thursday said it has received shareholders' approval to demerge ITC Hotels into a separate entity. Shareholders of ITC, in a virtual meeting held on Thursday through video conferencing/other audio-visual means, approved the resolution for the scheme of arrangement between ITC Ltd and ITC Hotels Ltd, the Kolkata-headquartered firm said in a regulatory filing. The proposal "has been approved and passed by the requisite majority of the Members, pursuant to Section 230(6) of the Companies Act, 2013", it added.
Ace Aviation, which has been fighting Jet Airways for the acquisition of three Boeing B777 aircraft, said that it has acquired another aircraft for the conversion slot in early February 2025.
More than 60 per cent of shareholders of edutech Byju's on Friday voted for removal of founder CEO Byju Raveendran and his family over alleged "mismanagement and failures" at what was once India's hottest tech startup, but the company dug in its heels, calling the voting done in the absence of founders as "invalid". Prosus - one of the six investors who had called the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) - in a statement said "shareholders unanimously passed all resolutions put forward for vote.
The NCLT has granted Future Retail Ltd (FRL) an extension of 90 days for concluding the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) of the company. Allowing FRL's plea the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has extended the deadline to July 15, 2023, for concluding the CIRP of FRL. "... NCLT on April 13, 2023, heard the application and granted the said exclusion of 90 days from CIRP of FRL and consequent extension for completion of CIRP till July 15, 2023," said a regulatory filing from the company.
As Go First awaits the NCLT verdict on its voluntary insolvency resolution plea, lessors have sought deregistration of nine more aircraft of the crisis-hit airline. In one week, various lessors have approached aviation regulator DGCA for deregistration and repossession of a total of 45 planes of Go First. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is set to pronounce the order on the carrier's petition on Wednesday.
Aviation watchdog DGCA has deregistered all the 54 planes leased by Go First, days after a court allowed lessors to take back their aircraft from the bankrupt airline. Bogged down by financial turbulence and engine woes, budget carrier Go First stopped flying in May last year and is undergoing an insolvency resolution process. Foreign lessors that have leased planes to the airline had moved the court to take back the aircraft.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharman on Monday held a performance review meeting with heads of public sector banks and asked them to make concerted efforts to garner deposits. Deposits have been growing 300-400 basis points lower than the credit growth in the last few months, creating an asset-liability mismatch for banks. During deliberations on the deposit mobilisation, she said that while the credit growth has picked up, mobilisation of deposits could further be improved to fund the credit growth sustainably, and asked banks to make concerted efforts to garner deposits by conducting special drives.
Competition Commission of India on Wednesday said it has approved the merger of the media assets of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney Co to create the country's largest media empire. The deal, announced six months ago, has been cleared by the CCI with certain modifications proposed by the two parties.
Future Retail, once the crown jewel of Kishore Biyani-led Future Group, is now heading for liquidation as its lenders could not get any reasonable buyer of the debt-ridden firm. As the Committee of Creditors (CoC) rejected the sole resolution plan submitted by Space Mantra after four extensions in the deadline to complete the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP), the RP of the company has now approached NCLT to initiate liquidation of Future Retail (FRL). "The resolution plan submitted by Space Mantra Private has not been approved by CoC of FRL, kindly note that, the Resolution Professional (RP) has filed an application, before the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, for initiation of liquidation of FRL," said a regulatory filing from FRL.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises has sought a termination fee of $90 million (around Rs 748.7 crore) from the Sony Group for calling off the $10 billion merger deal in January this year. It has sought termination fees from two Sony Group entities -- Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), now known as Culver Max Entertainment, and Bangla Entertainment (BEPL), according to a regulatory filing from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on Thursday.
If they are made accountable, bad loan cases will shrink dramatically, recoveries will rise, and the NCLT process will be more manageable, asserts Debashis Basu.
Mining conglomerate Vedanta Limited has received approvals from the majority of its creditors for a proposed demerger of businesses, marking an important step in the company's plan to split into six independent listed companies. "I am happy to let all of you know that we have received the 52 per cent plus the additional percentage, which is required for us to reach 75 per cent. "We have crossed that threshold as well. Most of the lenders have approved it," a senior Vedanta executive said in a recent bondholder conference call.
Leading broadcaster Zee Entertainment on Monday said it is planning to raise funds from the market through various routes, including issuing of equity of shares, and qualified institutions placements (QIPs). Though the company has not specified the amount it plans to raise, Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL) in a regulatory filing said its board is meeting on June 6 to consider the proposal for this.
Around 600 non-flying staff of Air India and Vistara are likely to be impacted by the two airlines' mega-merger, and efforts will be made to provide job opportunities to the affected employees within Air India group and Tata companies, sources said on Wednesday. Tata Group-owned loss-making full-service carriers -- Air India and Vistara -- together have more than 23,000 employees.
The group is among the 40 largest defaulters identified by the Reserve Bank's first list for insolvency in late 2016.
The insolvency process of debt-ridden Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL) on Tuesday hit a roadblock as the NCLT Mumbai has stayed the resolution process on the plea of Torrent Group. The stay order was issued by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) as the Ahmedabad-based Torrent Group challenged the revised bid from Hinduja Group, sources said. Torrent Group, which emerged as the highest bidder with an Rs 8,640 crore offer, had moved the NCLT-Mumbai against Hinduja Group's late revised bid, which it had submitted after the completion of the e-auction process on December 21.
Byju Raveendran, the founder and chief executive officer of the beleaguered edtech firm Byju's, said the company credited all pending January salaries to employees over the past few days. This was communicated to the employees in another letter sent on February 4. Byju's has about 15,000 employees. "I know you were told that you would get your salaries by Monday.
The government on Monday decided to call off the strategic divestment of Pawan Hans as the successful bidding consortium Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd was disqualified in view of pending legal cases. Pawan Hans is a 51:49 joint venture of the government and ONGC. The government had in April last year decided to sell the helicopter service provider for Rs 211.14 crore to Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd -- a consortium of Big Charter Private Ltd, Maharaja Aviation Private Ltd and Almas Global Opportunity Fund SPC.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has reserved its order on the merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises and with Culver Max Entertainment (earlier known as Sony Pictures Networks India). The Mumbai bench of NCLT, comprising H V Subba Rao and Madhu Sinha, reserved the order on Monday, after hearing arguments from creditors who objected to the scheme including Axis Finance, JC Flower Asset Reconstruction Co, IDBI Bank, Imax Corp and IDBI Trusteeship. In December 2021, Zee Entertainment and Sony Pictures had agreed to merge their businesses.
Wadia group-owned Go First will temporarily suspend flights on May 3 and 4 amid severe fund crunch, the airline's chief Kaushik Khona said on Tuesday.
