Go First will likely wait a little longer to launch its IPO as it has failed to announce a date since receiving the go-ahead from concerned authorities a year ago. The airline only has a few more days left to make an announcement, after which it will have to apply for permission again.

Time’s almost up

Go First’s plans to become a publicly listed company might not materialize anytime soon as the airline is likely to miss its deadline to launch its already delayed IPO.

As reported by Mint, Go First is one of several companies that have filed their draft red herring prospectus (DRHPs) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the last one year.

Go First has wanted to be a publicly listed enterprise for quite some time now. After delays due to some pending inquiries, the airline finally got the go-ahead in August last year but had to push back the plans again due to the emergence of Omicron and then the Russia-Ukraine conflict a few months later.

The rules dictate that a company must launch an IPO within 12 months of approval by the SEBI. During the pandemic, it was extended by six more months, but it is now back to being 12 months.

The publication quotes a banker with a private bank as saying,

“We are witnessing a considerable gap in the pace at which DRHPs are being filed versus the rate at which IPOs are being launched. Some DRHPs filed by the companies will expire soon so they will look to refile them.”

Go First’s deadline expires on August 26th, after which it will have to refile its IPO papers. With just a few more days remaining, the airline has still not announced a launch date for its IPO.

Big plans

The Wadia Group-owned airline had planned to raise approximately $463 million, most of which would have gone towards clearing outstanding debt. It was reported earlier that Go First was looking to launch the IPO in June or early July, but there has been no official announcement yet.

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The airline wasn’t just looking at debt repayment but also wanted to invest in network expansion. As reported earlier, Go First had planned to use around $275 million to pay off its debt, and the remaining amount would have gone towards increasing operations in India and internationally.

People familiar with the matter had said that some of the countries the airline is considering flying to include Nepal, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

But with no IPO announcement so far, it seems that Go First will have to wait a little longer to materialize those plans.

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Source: Mint