Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Exclusive! Kingfisher- Old wine, new bottle?

Neelam Mathews
Sept 18, 2013

It's the return of the native, we are hearing. Kingfisher House in Mumbai is abuzz with the news that a Saudi investor is looking at investing $500 million in the grounded airline.
"At current share prices (Rs 4), this will prove a good deal for the investor even as shares are expected to jump once the market gets news of this deal," said a financial consultant to AerospaceDiary. We could not confirm this.
So what will the new branding be? A Kingfisher pecking at profits? Or another icon? We're hearing, it is likely the name of the new airline if its starts, will be Kingfisher Air or King Air- closest to its old recognizable brand. Wonder if that's a good thing even as images of lessors holding begging bowls in hand come to mind.
Looks like the prayers of the some 1800 employees still at KFA are being heard by a bigger power. Last friday, we learn, the employees held a prayer session where they asked the good lord to shower his/her bounty  and empathy on Arun Mishra, DGCA and the banks to let go of their "obsession with KFA."
An amused official commented: "Perhaps they should have prayed that Vijay Mallya showered some of his UB earned cash from Diageo on them!
We are also hearing that by friday, the employees will get a month's salary and then more before the Formula One race in Delhi in late Oct. Hardly surprising, given last year's experience when hordes of staff threatened to protest outside the race track but were held by the police- something aerospacediary could not confirm.




1 comment:

  1. Hope this happens. this will be the best way out for mallya/creditors/lessors/employees

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