Through the QIP, the struggling carrier is aiming to raise funds by selling shares to eligible institutional participants. ICICI and Indian Bank are yet to give consent for the QIP whereas Yes Bank has given the consent, said the carrier.
ET earlier reported that promoter Ajay Singh’s share may be diluted by more than 10% through the QIP.
SpiceJet plans to use the proceeds from the issue for several key objectives aimed at stabilising its “financial health” and resuming full operations.
One of the primary goals is the “payment of statutory dues” amounting to₹601.5 crore. These dues include “Tax Deducted at Source (TDS)”, “provident fund”, and “Goods and Services Tax” obligations that have been delayed due to financial constraints. Another major portion of the proceeds, ₹750 crore, will be allocated to “settlement/payment of certain outstanding liabilities” owed to creditors such as “aircraft and engine lessors, engineering vendors, and financiers”.
According to the airline, it has over 25 pending litigations. This does not include the cases against the promoter.The company also plans to spend ₹410 crore on “ungrounding and maintenance of our existing fleet” and ₹370 crore on “new fleet induction” to expand its operations. This includes “purchase of components, spare parts, and repairs” to bring grounded aircraft back into service and acquiring new aircraft through various leasing models.As of June 30, 2024, SpiceJet’s total fleet size was 64 aircraft, with 36 aircraft, or 56.25% of the fleet, grounded. This situation is primarily the result of alleged defaults in payment to aircraft lessors, as well as insufficient maintenance due to financial constraints and the unavailability of components and spare parts, it said. The airline has taken delivery of 8 aircraft and remaining 147 are yet to be delivered.
Additionally, ₹118.9 crore will be used for “payment of employees’ dues” and ₹150.3 crore for “payment of airports and related airport payments”. As of June 30, 2024, the airline has 7,824 full-time employees.
In the past three years between June 2021 to June 2024, Sebi has imposed fines on SpiceJet for at least 20 instances for multiple non-compliance.