Will $370 million deal save cash-strapped Kingfisher?

Bangalore, Nov 18: The crisis-ridden Kingfisher Airlines' Chairman, Vijay Mallya said in an interview with '

' that he was near to a deal of $370 million with an Indian private investor and a consortium of banks that would save the country's second largest private airlines.

According to the interview with Financial Times, Mallya is ready for a deal with 14 banks led by State Bank of India which will provide the cash-strapped airline a working capital of 6 billion rupees ($118 million) but the liquor baron refused to disclose the names of the banks.

Earlier, lenders led by the State Bank of India had said that they are not in a position to help airlines and claimed that cash-stapped airlines did not fulfill all its commitments it had undertaken when a debt restructuring was done last December.

Meanwhile, Kingfisher airlines is about to conclude a deal with the banks to reduce the interest rates which the airline is currently paying on its $1.4 billion debt pile.

Though the country's second-largest private airlines never recorded a profit till 2008, Mr Mallya bought Captain Gopinath"s 'Flying Udupi restaurant' (Deccan Aviation) in 2007.

OneIndia News