Ajay Singh, the new promoter of SpiceJet, said on Wednesday that he has decided to pay off the airline’s statutory dues like Service Tax and employees’ salaries as he wanted to show that a Kingfisher like story was not repeated.
"Paying off statutory dues was high on our list of priorities. Settling them helps bring credibility to the company. At the moment, the airline is current on all statutory dues. From day one our priorities were clear -- statutory dues, pay employees and ensure that our services run seamlessly,” Singh told a select group of journalists including BusinessLine at a breakfast meeting, here on Wednesday.
Late on Tuesday, the airline had issued a statement indicating that it had cleared statutory dues and salaries.
SpiceJet stock closed at ₹24.95 on the BSE, up 3.31 per cent, on Wednesday.
Singh entered into an agreement with the Kalanithi Maran of the Sun Group on January 15. The agreement saw the entire 58.46 per cent holding of Kalanithi Maran and Kal Airways Private Limited in SpiceJet being transferred to Singh. Though the deal was inked on January 15, the share transfer happened only earlier this week with the airline informing the Bombay Stock Exchange about the share transfer on February 24.
Stock options for employees?
Singh, who was one of the original promoters of SpiceJet when it took to the skies in 2005 later exited the airline, also indicated that he planned to offer the airline’s employees company shares. He declined to get into specifics of by when the airline will come out with ESOP for its employees.
He also declined to get into specifics of who were the other partners in a consortium that he is forming to save the cash-strapped SpiceJet.