Not much is known of Murari Lal Jalan, who leads the consortium that has won the bid for India's oldest private airline. Will he be able to turn around the company in a pandemic-ravaged sector?
Murali Lal Jalan, set to become the newest owner of Jet Airways, along with Kalrock Capital. Photo courtesy: NRI Achievers
"He holds a nominal stake of 0.1 percent in the company," a person close to Jalan said on conditions of anonymity. "However, the company never got off the grounds as its bank accounts have not yet been opened and has not been capitalised till date. The family relationship of Mr Jalan’s brother and his family has no relation to the business activities of Mr Jalan. Mr Jalan and his brother are two separate entities and their personal relationships have no connection with their business activities, which are separate and distinct."
That's something Madnani of Kalrock reiterates. “We have no links with the Patanjali group, which is Baba Ramdev’s,” says Manoj Madnani, a board member at Kalrock Capital. “The consortium consists of only two members—Jalan and Fritsch, and the entire investments will be made between these two only. Jalan has no business ties with any of the Gupta family. Nobody from the Gupta family is involved directly and indirectly in the business."
Yet, industry insiders say there could be more than what meets the eye. “The Gupta family has had some tryst with aviation and owns the New Delhi-based Heritage Aviation, an airline company that owns helicopters and a business jet and mostly undertakes pilgrimage trips,” says Martin of Martin Consulting. “They mostly undertake trips to the Himalayas, including Vaishno Devi.” According to the ministry of corporate affairs, Angoori Devi Gupta, a South African national, owns over 68 percent of Heritage Aviation. Angoori Devi is also the mother of the Gupta brothers. “With the new set of buyers, you never really know what’s going on,” another industry executive says. “If you wanted to start an airline, why did you wait this long? I won’t be surprised if Kalrock could be the front end of a deal.” A spokesperson on behalf of Murari Lal Jalan has clarified that he "has no business association or ties with Gupta brothers of South Africa and it is absolutely incorrect to link him to them or to any of their businesses." “What we bring to the table is corporate governance and compliance, and Jalan was the one who came up with this entire idea,” adds Madnani. “He (Jalan) sensed the opportunity and he said this is a sector, once it rebounds, will have a huge opportunity.” While Jalan and Kalrock have had a relationship early on, a decision to jointly bid for the airline, Madnani says, was taken around the time the pandemic had begun to sweep across the world. “This is as opportunistic as it gets,” Madnani adds. The joy of flying, once again