Bidding open for stake in Jet |
After much speculation the Abu-Dhabi based Etihad Airways, a 24 percent shareholder in Jet Airways, is evaluating its options to participate in a pre-bid process for the troubled airline. Etihad, which had recently indicated to Jet lenders that it wanted to sell its stake in the airline founded by Naresh Goyal, is yet to confirm if it`s interested, keeping the stakeholders guessing. The stake sale process of Jet kicked off on Monday, two days after its scheduled opening. Potential bidders have time only till Wednesday evening to submit their expressions of interest. Besides Etihad, San Francisco-based private equity investment firm TPG Capital, with an estimated $75 billion, is in the race to bid for Jet Airways, which is left with a fifth of its original fleet and has an accumulated debt of over Rs 8,500 crore. Atlanta-based airline Delta is in the reckoning as well. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), India`s first sovereign wealth fund, is yet another entity which could possibly invest in Jet to rescue the airline. According to the EOI document issued on Monday, an acquirer will have to take at least 35.4 million shares equalling 31.2 per cent stake in the airline.
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