Jet Airways shares surge on report of Naresh Goyal’s exit

Bengaluru: Shares of India’s Jet Airways (India) Ltd rose sharply on Wednesday following a report that founder Naresh Goyal has agreed to sell his controlling stake and give up operational control of the struggling carrier. Although Goyal has been reluctant to relinquish his controlling stake in the 25-year-old airline, he is said to have met all three prospective buyers—Tata Group, Etihad Airways PJSC and a consortium of Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines Inc., television news channel CNBC TV18 reported, citing multiple people familiar with the matter.

Jet Airways shares rose 5.20% to ₹ 308.80 apiece on the BSE even as the benchmark Sensex gained 0.57% to end the day at 35,716.95 points.

Mint had on 13 November reported that Tata Group has started due diligence to buy Jet Airways from Naresh Goyal.

“Goyal has agreed to sell controlling stake in the company to an investor and has communicated the same to three strategic investors they are talking to at this point,” the CNBC TV18 report quoted the people as saying. The report did not say whether a specific buyer was chosen.

Goyal has, however, laid out certain conditions including retaining a minority stake of below 5% and a board seat on the firm, the report added.

Jet Airways’ financial woes have been worsened by rising crude oil prices and intense pricing competition in the domestic aviation industry.

Jet, which is 24% owned by Etihad Airways, did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.