Jet Airways (Mumbai International) plans to raise funds through a sale of a minority stake, Money Control reports, citing sources close to the deal. The Indian carrier is reportedly in talks with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and sovereign wealth funds about a deal in a bid to reduce the airline's debt.
Under its current structure, Jet Airways is 51% owned by founder and chairman Naresh Goyal and 24% by Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International). According to its 2016 annual report, Jet Airways' minor stakeholders include Reliance Capital Trustee Co. Ltd (4.05%), Parvest Equity India (2.27%), Life Insurance Corporation Of India (2.07%), Birla Sun Life Trustee Company Private Limited (1.24%), Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius Private Limited (0.86%), and Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Espana S.A. S.V. (0.74%).
For the quarter ended December 31, 2016, Jet Airways saw a net profit of INR1.42 billion (USD21.5 million) down from INR4.7 billion (USD72.4 million) in the same period the year before.
In late 2016, Bloomberg reported that Jet Airways was possibly interested in raising USD300 million through a premium stock sale in order to expand its international routes, also citing confidential sources. However, this has yet to eventuate.
Following the news of the minority stake sale, Jet Airways stocks rose 1.5%.
