Jet Airways' lenders start stake sale process; to invite EOI on April 6

Lenders to Jet Airways have decided to pursue a bank-led resolution plan for stake sale in the airline, while other options will also be considered in case it does not yield desired results.

The consortium of lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) will be inviting Expression of Interest (EoI) from prospective buyers on April 6. These need to be submitted by April 9, the lenders said in a statement after a meeting held on April 4.

“Whilst all efforts will be made for the stake sale by the lenders, other options may be considered by the lenders, should these efforts not result in an acceptable outcome,” they said.

The lenders did not delve into what these other options will be. Also, there was no mention of the status of emergency funds being transferred to keep the airline from being grounded.

A week ago, SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar had said, “My expectation is May 31…market is open for whosoever wants to come in. There will be EoI which will be given by April 9 and binding bids by April 30.”

Jet’s fleet is down to 26 aircraft, from the original 119, and it has defaulted on loan repayments since December last year. On March 25, the airline's board had approved a debt-resolution plan under which the lenders would take control of the airline and also make an immediate fund infusion of Rs 1,500 crore.