PremiumNew Delhi: The fate of Jet Airways (India) Ltd remained uncertain with no revival plan or interim funding in sight. On Tuesday, Jet Airways lenders, led by State Bank of India (SBI), met financial services secretary Rajeev Kumar amid reports of a temporary shutdown that sent the airline's share price tumbling by as much as 19%.
While a discussion on Jet Airways’ revival is going on, no plan has been finalized, said Sunil Mehta, chief executive of Punjab National Bank. PNB is a part of the consortium of lenders that is carrying out debt resolution at the beleaguered airline.
Mehta said SBI and SBI Capital Markets Ltd are working on the domestic carrier’s revival plan, which includes an emergency funding.
Jet Airways’ lenders have carried out a bidding process to sell up to 75% stake in the airline. On Monday, SBI said the bidding process was being vetted by a legal team and prospective bidders will be shortlisted by SBI CAPS shortly.
“The proposed equity conversion by banks, if any, will be undertaken as a transitory mechanism to facilitate the bidding-cum-sale process. Necessary support to facilitate the process is being extended by the banks in the consortium," a SBI spokesperson said.
Etihad Airways PJSC, India’s National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and private equity firms TPG Capital and Indigo Partners were shortlisted on Monday to place binding bids for Jet Airways.
As part of the Jet Airways bailout plan chalked out late last month, the airline was supposed to get ₹1,500 crore from lenders immediately, but that interim funding hasn't materialised yet. Lenders have released some amount in small tranches, which is insufficient to meet the airline's day-to-day operational costs.
The lack of funds has led to grounding of almost all Jet Airways planes. The airline, as of Monday, was operating only seven aircraft out of its original fleet of 119 before the financial crisis struck.
