Jet Airways India Ltd and SpiceJet Ltd battling hot competition and high operating costs, are in talks to sell minority stakes to foreign investors, said a senior government official with knowledge of the discussions to Reuters.
NEW DELHI- Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has stepped up after India changed its rules in September to allow foreign carriers to buy stakes of up to 49 percent in local airlines. The Jet Airways-Etihad tie-up would be the bigger of the two deals, with a possible value of up to nearly $440 million, but the government official provided no further details on the stakes involved or costs.
Talks between Etihad and Jet, which has 100 planes and is India’s largest airline by total passengers carried, have been the subject of recent media reports citing unnamed sources. Jet shares rose about 14.3 percent and SpiceJet jumped as much as 19.2 percent on Monday, continuing their rallies from last week amid speculation that they may become the first Indian carriers to secure foreign investment.
“The talks are on. This is more or less final. It may take around a month and a half,” the government source told reporters, referring to the Jet-Etihad negotiations. “This deal is not just about investment, but also technology and partnership in many other ways,” added the source, who declined to be identified.
The Indian aviation industry lost a combined $2 billion last year and all but unlisted IndiGo lost money, hurt by high state taxes on jet fuel, expensive airports and regulatory uncertainty.
Jet and Etihad already have a code-sharing agreement and a deal could help them win market share from state-owned Air India, as well as from Dubai-based Emirates Airline, which dominates routes between India and the Middle East.
Etihad is interested in access to Jet’s low-fare domestic network under JetKonnect, an industry source said in Dubai. Jet Airways and Etihad declined comment. Thus far, there is no clarity on valuations for a Jet-Etihad deal and internal finance teams of both airlines are in talks without involving bankers, said another source, who is familiar with the discussions, but not directly involved.
The founder of Jet Airways is likely to convert shares owned by its holding company into his personal stake to comply with foreign investment regulations, the government source said.
Etihad, which expanded globally through stake purchases in firms like Air Berlin and Virgin Australia, is looking to extend its geographical reach to India and other Asian markets, its chief executive told Reuters last month.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
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