Meet Abhilash Lal, the man supposed to safely land the bankrupt Go First airline

Abhilash Lal, the insolvency resolution professional who has been appointed for the revival of Go First, was also the key person behind the resolution and the acquisition of the 600-MW Jhabua Power Plant. Abhilash Lal was named as the insolvency resolution professional for Go First, whose application for voluntary insolvency proceedings has been admitted by NCLT. 

The NCLT asked the company to give all necessary support to the insolvency resolution professional as well as directed the company to deposit Rs 5 crore with the IRP for the initial cost of proceedings.

Lal, a Mechanical Engineer from Agra’s Dayalbagh Educational Institute and an alumnus of IIM-Bangalore, is also an independent director at Apollo Pipes. He started his career as a Deputy Production Manager at CEAT Tyres in 1988, after which he held various positions in HSBC, AT Kearney, and Genpact. He was appointed as Director at DTZ in 2006, after which he was appointed in similar roles as independent director in Apollo Tubes, East Delhi Waste Processing Company Limited, Lloyds Line Pipes, Omkar Clean Energy, and Ganesha Ecosphere.

According to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, Abhilash Lal is associated with Alvarez & Marsal India Professionals Services. As per the website, Lal has had seven assignments including Jhabua Power Plant for which he was appointed as the resolution professional on July 29, 2019. The other proceedings he has been a part of include SevenHills Healthcare for which he was appointed RP in March 13, 2018 and then on April 14, 2018, Hotel Horizon, STG Softek, Warasgaon Asset Maintenance, and JSK Marketing.

In the case of the Jhabua Power Plant, state-owned NTPC announced the acquisition for Rs 925 crore – the first of its kind deal under insolvency proceedings. This was the first acquisition of a power asset by NTPC through NCLT. 

Under the Jhabua resolution plan, NTPC offered a 50 per cent equity stake in the power plant to financial creditors while retaining the management rights and control over the company. 

After the deal, legal counsel Alvarez & Marsal, took to social media to thank Lal. “Alvarez & Marsal is pleased to successfully complete a marquee transaction, the corporate insolvency resolution process of Jhabua Power Limited with the acquisition of the company by NTPC Limited. Abhilash Lal, an insolvency resolution professional, led this engagement with A&M supporting him,” said the firm, further adding that during the CIRP period, the plant’s EBITDA increased 2.5 times, leading to a significant increase in the valuation of the business to Rs 3 crore per megawatt. 

Abhilash Lal’s appointment for Go First comes after the airline, in its plea to NCLT last week, sought a resolution professional, preferably Alvarez & Marsal, who were also hired by Jet Airways to help the airline in its turnaround within a year.

Also read: Go First crisis: NCLT says resolution professional to take over carrier

Also read: Go First crisis: 'Best thing we asked for has happened,' says CEO Kaushik Khona

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