Jet Airways to move SC on deal with Air Sahara

New Delhi, Jun 27: Jet Airways today broke its silence for the first time after its acquisition plan to buy Air Sahara at a cost of Rs 2,300 crore fell through.

As both carriers are now locked in a bitter legal battle at Mumbai and Lucknow courts, Jet said it is also filing a transfer petition before the Supreme Court.

The share purchase agreement between Jet and Sahara expired on June 21. Jet said the pact was based on some permissions from the government and certain policies relating to mergers and acquisitions relating to airlines being in place.

''The reform and liberalisation in aviation sector have been relatively fast paced. However, policy changes in such key areas have their own timeframe. They have to balance various strategic needs and accommodate different points of view. Sustainable reform must hasten slowly,'' it said.

Commercial transactions have their own timeframe based on financial and other techno-commercial compulsions, Jet added. ''On account of this, the time limits in share purchase agreement have expired before the conditions precedent have been met. For commercial reasons and in the interest of Jet Airways and its family of shareholders, the management decided not to extend the time,'' it said.

Litigation is now pending in the Bombay High Court (initiated by Jet Airways) and the Lucknow courts. A transfer petition is also being filed by Jet Airways before the Supreme Court.

Any comments on the merits of the controversies between parties will therefore be inappropriate and improper, it said.

Jet said it acted entirely on sensible commercial and legal advise received by it.

Air Sahara, on the other hand, maintains that Jet was looking for a price cut from the agreed Rs 2,300 crore to Rs 1,800 crore and wriggled out of the deal when its plan did not materialise.

Lucknow district judge Shiv Charan Sharma has frozen the Rs 500 crore escrow account of Jet at ICICI Bank.

Industry sources say Air Sahara is losing about Rs 100 crore every month and the near future will see more difficulty as the lean season begins.

UNI

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