The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) says it is willing to hand over ownership of Arik Air and Aero Contractor airlines if the owners are willing to pay the debts owed by the companies.
Ahmed Kuru, AMCON chairman, said the corporation did not wish to operate in the airline business or indeed any business apart from its legal mandate.
He further noted that the commission will be willing to exit the firms if the owners of the companies pay the debts owed.
“Where this does not happen, the corporation will seek to strengthen the intervened companies and undertake a responsible exit in a manner that reinforces the sector.”- He noted.
He said AMCON’s intervention through receiver management was first to stabilize the operations of the airlines, put them in a position to generate positive cash flow, then resolve their debt situation through either the owners paying the debts or the sale of the companies/underlining assets.
AMCON, he noted, purchased non-performing loans worth about ₦181 billion from various banks, out of which 90 percent of the loans purchased was in the aviation sector
The corporation had taken over Aero Contractors, Nigeria’s oldest carrier in 2016. It had also taken over Arik Air, in 2017.
Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria is a body established by the Act of the National Assembly of Nigeria in July 2010.
It was created to be a key stabilizing and re-vitalizing tool aimed at resolving the non-performing loan assets.