Jet Airways: SBI, lenders to own 30 per cent stake

In a debt-to-equity swap, banks led by SBI are expected to gain 30 per cent stake in Jet Airways. On the other hand, the airline is fighting severe liquidity crunch with lessors grounding 5 aircraft belonging to its fleet at metro airports.

Lessors grounded four Boeing 737 aircraft at Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru, leading to the cancellation of 19 flights on Tuesday and Wednesday.


Jet Airways has scheduled an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on February 21 to approve the conversion of loan into shares or convertible instruments or other securities as per the terms of the loan documents. Lenders will also have their representative on the company's board.


Post the restructuring plan and debt-to-equity swap, lenders led by SBI will hold close to 30 per cent stake, with SBI holding 15 per cent stake in Jet Airways. The fresh share issuance of shares will take Etihad Airways’ holding to 40 per cent from 24 per cent, while the company's promoter Naresh Goyal's stake may dip to less than 20 per cent from the existing 51 per cent.


Earlier, when news reports said that the Goyal will invest up to Rs 700 crore to maintain a 25 per cent stake in the airline, Jet Airways filed a statement that neither denied nor confirmed the same, only affirming that the promoters and SBI are working actively on a restructure plan. India's biggest lender SBI's exposure to Jet Airways' debt is approximately Rs. 2,000 crore, whereas the total debt obligation of Jet Airways' is approximately Rs. 9,000 crore.


Meanwhile, at 11:57 hours, Jet Airways was trading at Rs. 237.30 per share, down by Rs. 5.45 or 2.25 per cent on Wednesday.