Probes Related To Promoter Fritsch, Will Not Impact Jet Airways Buyout: Kalrock Capital

Kalrock Capital on Monday said the ongoing investigations related to its promoter Florian Fritsch in foreign jurisdictions will have no impact on the acquisition of Jet Airways. The Jalan-Kalrock consortium has emerged as the winning bidder for the debt-ridden Jet Airways through the insolvency resolution process. The statement from Kalrock Capital Partners Ltd comes against Fritsch coming under the lens of regulatory agencies in Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Austria.

Also, there is uncertainty over when Jet Airways is likely to restart operations despite the consortium's resolution plan getting approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) more than a year ago in June 2021. Jet Airways, which was grounded in April 2019, reported a standalone net loss of Rs 308.24 crore in the September quarter. Kalrock Capital on Monday said its promoter Fritsch is assisting in certain investigations initiated by regulatory agencies in Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Austria.

"Florian confirms that neither Kalrock Capital Partners nor Jet Airways have any connection with these ongoing investigations, or the charges made thereunder, and these investigations have no impact on the acquisition of Jet Airways, and Jalan-Kalrock consortium remains committed towards Jet Airways," it said in the statement.

According to the statement, the investigations, which are ongoing, have been initiated based on anonymous complaints filed in relation to certain businesses where Florian is one of the financial investors in his personal capacity and that the disputes are commercial in nature. "Florian has already filed complaints with the concerned High Court regarding these disputes and complaints, which are also being investigated," it added. Details about the complaints were not disclosed.

A regulatory filing to the Indian stock exchanges on Friday said Jet Airways "continues to incur losses resulting in an erosion in its net worth and its current liabilities exceed current assets as of September 30, 2022". The airline received the Air Operators Certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in May this year. As per the filing, the company's monitoring committee is not in a position to provide the consolidated financial results due to various reasons, including that subsidiaries are separate legal entities and also currently non-operational. "...

The team is facing huge difficulty in obtaining relevant data from the said subsidiaries as also there are no KMPs/senior management personnel (in the company's subsidiaries) from whom the relevant information can be obtained for the preparation of consolidated financial results of the company," it had said. Shares of Jet Airways declined 2.41 per cent to Rs 85.20 apiece in afternoon trade on BSE.

(PTI)