The lenders last week took symbolic possession of the land located in Thane, in the first step towards a likely auction of the property.
“Symbolic possession means that physical possession is still with the company but lenders by virtue of enforcing their rights can press forward for recovery. Lenders are likely to announce the symbolic possession through newspaper ads next week,” said a person familiar with the process.
Lenders expect more than ₹2,000 crore for the land. The airline owes its creditors more than ₹6,200 crore.
“This is a 94-acre land in a prime area in Thane. According to different valuations done by lenders, its standalone value could be around ₹1,200 crore. But if you take into account the future development potential and cash flows, the value could go up to at least ₹2,500 crore. All these factors will be considered before fixing the minimum auction price,” said the person.
The land was kept as collateral by the Wadia group for loans taken by Go First. The property is owned by the realty arm of the group. Lenders want to ensure that the recovery from this land is not mixed with the plans they are currently examining for the airline.
Publishing of the possession notice next week is likely to be followed by due diligence and final valuations in the run-up to an auction which could happen within a month. Lenders are likely to offer this land on an as-is-where-is basis, which means potential bidders will have to deal with any future tax as well as government or other liabilities linked to the land.
Of the 94 acres, about four acres have been taken over by the Thane Municipal Corporation for road widening and beautification purposes which will have to be accounted for. The land is also not fenced so bankers want to move quickly with the auction to avoid future encroachments.
Meanwhile, lenders have already applied for a third extension to the debt resolution timeline for the airline beyond the April 4 deadline, even as final negotiations with bidders are yet to commence.
Sharjah-based aviation company Sky One helmed by Jaideep Mirchandani, and SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh along with EaseMyTrip owner Nishant Pitti’s Busy Bee Airways are the two bidders for the airline.
Both bidders have included future arbitration claims from Go First’s proceedings against engine maker Pratt & Whitney in their resolution plans.
The three secured creditors of Go First are Central Bank of India with admitted claims of ₹1,934 crore, Bank of Baroda with ₹1,744 crore and IDBI Bank with ₹75 crore.