 "Spicejet Express")
SpiceJet has sought approval from its shareholders for aircraft lessor Carlyle Aviation Partners to acquire 5.91 per cent in the airline at Rs. 48 a share.
The lessor will get the shares after converting its existing outstanding dues of $28.16 million, the airline said. “This will reduce the outstanding debt obligations of the company,” it added. The airline stock closed at Rs. 31.42 on the BSE, up 7.20 per cent, on Wednesday.
On February 27, SpiceJet said that it had restructured outstanding dues worth $100 million to Carlyle, following which the lessor would pick a 7.5 per cent stake in the airline.
On Tuesday, the carrier also sought approval from its shareholders for Spice Healthcare Private Limited — owned by its promoter Ajay Singh — to acquire 20.31 per cent stake in the airline in lieu of equity infusion.
On July 12, Singh announced that he would infuse Rs. 500 crore into SpiceJet by way of subscribing fresh equity shares and/or convertible instruments. This equity infusion from the promoter is necessary to enable the airline to avail of further loans under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee (ECLG) Scheme rules.
With this equity infusion from Singh, which will take his shareholding to 63.83 per cent from 58.98 currently, SpiceJet would be entitled to additional credit facilities of Rs. 206 crore under the scheme. The airline has already taken loans of about Rs. 410 crore under the scheme. Currently, about 47 per cent of the promoter’s 58.98 per cent stake is pledged with banks.
“The proceeds of the issue will be kept in the bank account of the company and shall be utilised for working capital requirements within a period of eighteen months of receipts,” it added.
More From This Section
As on March 31 last year, SpiceJet’s total consolidated liabilities stood at Rs. 13,894 crore. The company has not declared its FY23 results as yet.
The cash-strapped airline has been finding it difficult to pay its aircraft lessors on time. Dublin-based Aircastle, one of the lessors, has filed insolvency pleas against the airline at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). The cases are currently being heard.
SpiceJet is scheduled to operate 1,287 flights per week in August, which is 40.5 per cent fewer than in August last year, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Akasa Air, which was established a year ago, in June beat SpiceJet for the first time in terms of domestic passengers carried per month. The airline carried 618,000 passengers in the month, compared to 555,000 passengers carried by SpiceJet, according to the data released by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
