Mobile Operator Aircel Files For Bankruptcy

New Delhi:  Billionaire T Ananda Krishnan's Aircel has filed for bankruptcy in the Mumbai branch of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the bankruptcy and insolvency resolution court.


The move comes weeks after the January 19 meeting with lenders where the company's promoters were asked to invest at least a billion dollars to enable the company to meet its financial obligations.

The Malaysian owned Maxis company has a debt of over 16,000 crores taken from a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India.

The company shutting down is expected to impact tower firms, vendors, distributors and 500 employees associated with the operator.


"Post-detailed discussions with the financial lenders and shareholders, the company could not reach consensus with respect to restructuring of its debt and funding," Aircel said in a statement.

Aircel said it had decided to pursue a resolution under the country's Bankruptcy Code as the "appropriate recourse."

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The entry of Reliance Jio in 2016 with free voice and cut-price data plans forced smaller operators to exit the crowded and competitive telecoms market, while bigger players such as Idea Cellular and Vodafone Group Plc's Indian unit are merging to stave off competition.

With inputs from Reuters