Friday, May 14, 2021

Go Air files for Rs 3600-crore IPO

New Delhi: Wadia Group Go Air, which has been as rebranded Go First, will be the third currently operational Indian airline to go public. The low-cost carrier has filed for an IPO to raise Rs 3,600 crore. IndiGo and SpiceJet are listed. Erstwhile Jet Airways and Kingfisher, which stopped flying in the last decade, were also listed.

Go First is raising funds at a time when Covid has severely impacted the financials of all airlines and trying to raise funds. India’s biggest airline (in terms of passengers flown) IndiGo last week decided to raise upto Rs 3,000 crore through “an issue of equity shares by way of a qualified institutions placement.” IndiGo for years has an offer from Qatar Airways chief Akbar Al Baker to invest in it whenever promoter Rahul Bhatia gives his nod for the same.

Vistara owners, Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, have pumped in Rs 465 crore into the full service carrier — the fourth tranche during the pandemic since last April. In all the promoters have together put in Rs 2,000 crore since last April.

Tatas are also infusing funds in their other airline, AirAsia India. Divestment-bound Air India, which is not getting equity infusion from the government, raises fresh sovereign guarantee-backed loans to keep flying till it finds a new owner, which is likely to be the Tata Group. Other airlines are also trying to somehow survive Covid downturn on travel — the biggest crisis aviation has ever faced.

Go First’s draft red herring prospectus details the issues faced by the airline during the pandemic. To be sure, all airlines are passing through the same severe turbulence with only having the safety of deep-pocket promoters (Go Air, Vistara, AirAsia India) or own cash reserves (IndiGo).

14/05/21 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India


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