Final Nail in Coffin? Nishant Pitti-Backed Busy Bee Aviation Withdraws GoFirst Bid

With passing weeks, the hopes for the revival of GoFirst Airways continue to diminish. In the latest news, EaseMyTrip Founder Nishant Pitti has announced that he has personally backed out from the GoFirst bid. He along with SpiceJet MD Ajay Singh jointly placed a bid for GoFirst. Now, Nishant has announced the withdrawal.

Busy Bee Withdraws GoFirst Bid

Busy Bee Aviation is a consortium, in which Nishant Pitti holds a majority stake in Busy Bee Aviation. Ajay Singh is the Managing Director at Spicejet with a stake of around 38%. In February, this consortium submitted its bid to the Resolution Professional Shailendra Ajmera.

Now, Nishant Pitti has informed on social media that he has personally backed out of this bid. With this decision, he will focus on other strategic priorities and initiatives that align with the vision of EaseMyTrip. There is no clarity on whether Ajay Singh is continuing the bidding war or not. When asked, Mr Pitti declined to comment on Singh’s involvement.

This withdrawal comes just a day after EaseMyTrip posted a quarterly loss of Rs 15 crore. In the same quarter last year, it posted a profit of Rs 31 crore. Because of GoFirst’s loss, the travel portal had to write off Rs 74 crore. EMT has also resumed flights between India and Maldives, which it stopped in January month.

Nothing Left in The Airline

If you look at the condition of GoFirst, to be honest, there is nothing left. Aircraft form the backbone of an airline. With the latest Delhi High Court order, DGCA was forced to deregister the entire fleet of GoFirst, allowing lessors to repossess their assets. In short, the airline is now fleet-less. The lenders have decided not to contest this decision in a higher court.

According to a media report, DGCA will soon distribute the domestic airport slots and international flying rights permanently to other carriers. Long ago, it lost its IATA code. Almost all the employees of the airline have left the airline. The remaining ones too have lost hope. CEO Kaushik Khona has already resigned.

From the top, it seems that the only valuable thing GoFirst has now is its Air Operator Certificate (AOC). Lenders are set to auction a 94-acre land parcel in Thane, which GoFirst provided in collateral. The airline owes Rs 6,200 crores to major banks like Central Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IDB Bank, etc.

Is The Revival Possible?

There is still a little bit of hope. It would be interesting to know whether Ajay Singh will continue the bidding process or withdraw his bid. The other bidder is Jaideep Mirchandani-backed Sky One Aviation. The UAE-based company is also keen to acquire GoFirst.

However, sources having knowledge of this matter told the Economic Times that the bids submitted by both bidders are very low. Their repayment plan majorly depends on the arbitration award expected from Pratt & Whitney. The airline is fighting with P&W in a Singaporean Court for compensation worth Rs 8,000 crore.

Almost all the assets of GoFirst have gone for a toss. Hence, liquidation seems the way forward. By liquidating the assets, the lenders will try to cover a significant part of their losses.

Conclusion: GoFirst Bid Withdrawal

The hopes of revival of GoFirst further diminishes. Nishant Pitti, the partner of Ajay Singh in the bid placed for GoFirst has announced his withdrawal. With this, Ajay Singh and SkyOne remain the two bidders. The airline remains with no aircraft after Delhi HC ordered DGCA to deregister the entire fleet.

What do you think about the bid withdrawal of Nishant Pitti? Discuss in the comment section.