Kingfisher Airlines chairman and managing director Vijay Mallya is keeping his fingers crossed as he awaits word from Air Sahara on the offer he made to pick up stake in the debt-laden airline, but clarified that he never made a bid to buy the entire venture.
"We have submitted our valuation to Ernst and Young, who were appointed by Air Sahara. Because I made a valuation of full Air Sahara, people misunderstood that I made a bid for the complete airline. I am waiting for them to come back to me over the deal," he told PTI in an interview.
Auditing firm Ernst and Young had valued Lucknow-based Air Sahara between $750 million to $1 billion, but Kingfisher's independent valuation of the ailing carrier is understood to have fallen short of that figure.
Mallya said it was difficult for him to comment on the exact status or the percentage of stake that he was going to pick up, but confirmed that he was not interested in just becoming a "financial investor" in the beleaguered airline.
"Now Ernst and Young should come back to me with what they are offering. At the moment it would be difficult for me to comment on what they are willing to give. I will tell you one thing, I am not interested in merely becoming a financial investor," said Mallya, who launched Kingfisher Airlines earlier this year.