New Delhi, Jul 9 (IANS): US-based fund Interups Inc will be submitting its bid for Air India on or before August 31, 2020, unless there is any further extension of the deadline.

Laxmi Prasad, Chairman & CEO, Chief Business Architect, Interups Inc said, "We carry 27,000 plus NRI retirement asset accounts and a group of very ultra-rich Billionaire Group and we are dead serious on our fight to have this airline piece not miss our hands."

Interups Inc is a public listed company in the US which is engaged in the business of identifying and investing into business opportunities or transactions either directly or on behalf of its stakeholders, affiliates, associate concerns and clients.

The New York based entity which has bid for the sick Lavasa Corporation in the past in India plans to acquire assets worth $7-8 billion in India, which include an airline, luxury resorts and a financial services company.

Set up in 2012 in the US, its shares have been suspended from the US stock exchanges for not filing statutory information since 2016. The company has also bid for properties of Hotel Claridges in New Delhi, Mussoorie and a luxury resort near Chennai in 2018, it said in its filings with SEC in 2018.

It is offering Rs 1,260 crore Claridges Hotels and Rs 252 crore for Mahabalipuram Intercontinental Hotel Resort. The NY will invest upto $450 million for an all equity buyout of Lavasa and expects to cough up an additional $150 million towards maintenance of the property.

"It shall be an acquisition for the people and by the people and participation is 100 per cent NRI and domestic Indian investor base", Prasad said.

"We have been seriously into Air India divestment since the opening of the interest, met the government several times and we have not dropped out of the race because of any pandemic affect. We are and we will be a very serious contender for acquiring Air India", he added.

"Deloitte is our transaction adviser on Air India. And we shall be submitting our bidding on or before August 31, 2020 unless there is any further deadline extension," Prasad added.