With Diageo set to acquire majority stake in United Spirits Ltd (USL) from the United Breweries (UB) Group, bankers feel there is a ray of hope that the beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) will fly again.
Bankers feel that UB Group promoter, Vijay Mallya, will channel the funds raised, estimated at around $2 billion, from the stake sale to revive KFA.
KFA’s licence has been suspended by aviation regulator.
State Bank of India Chairman said “for the airline, nothing can get any worse from here”.
Commenting on the USL-Diageo deal, Chaudhuri said, “If at all it (KFA) starts flying and gets capitalised, there can only be an upside and to that extent this news is positive.”
SBI has classified the KFA account as a non-performing asset and the entire loan has been provided for. There is no downside in Kingfisher, said the SBI chief.
“We have always maintained that Kingfisher needs capital. Where the capital comes from, we are absolutely agnostic to it. It can come from his (Mallya’s) group company, his personal capital, foreign money or foreign airlines… it is better for the airline,” he said.
Corporation Bank Chairman Ajay Kumar also maintains Kingfisher as “nothing (regarding revival of KFA) is on the table as of now.” At present, Corporation Bank’s exposure to the financially troubled airline stands at Rs 160 crore and classified as a non-performing asset.
A consortium of 17 banks amounts has an exposure of about Rs 7,000 crore. SBI, the leader of the consortium, has an exposure of Rs 1,458 crore. Most of the lenders to the grounded airline have already classified KFA as NPA.