Go First Crisis: Wadia Group May Push For One-Time Settlement

The Wadia group which owns Go First airline is expected to push for one-time settlement with banks under which creditors will take a "substantial haircut", reported Financial Express. As the Wadia Group has not defaulted on payment to creditors till date, it will not be barred from offering a resolution plan once the case is admitted by the NCLT, the FE report added.

Earlier, Go First filed its petition under Section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code to initiate insolvency against itself. The plea is different from Sections 7 and 9 where the financial and operational creditors, respectively, take the corporate debtor to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in case of default in payment of dues, added the Financial Express report.

Corporate lawyer Ranjana Roy said, "Since the Wadia Group has till date not defaulted on payment to creditors, it won't be barred from offering a resolution plan for the company once the case is admitted by the NCLT," as per the FE report.

Crisis-hit Go First's urgent plea seeking voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings faced vehement opposition from aircraft lessors on Thursday, while the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) reserved its order on a day when the carrier extended cancellation of all flights till May 9.

Meanwhile, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Thursday reserved its order on crisis-hit airline Go First's plea seeking voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings, according to a PTI report.

A two-member bench headed by President Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar concluded the day-long hearing during which the Wadia group-controlled airline sought initiation of insolvency resolution proceedings and an interim moratorium on its financial obligations, as per the PTI report.

Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing Go First, said the objective of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is to ensure that a company is a going concern and not ground it, added PTI report.