In a first, Jet Airways to sell 24% stake in Abu Dhabhi’s Etihad for Rs 2,050 crore

  Jet Airways and Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad finally enacted a well choreographed tango, clinching the first foreign direct investment ( FDI) deal after foreign airlines were allowed part- ownership of their Indian rivals.

On Wednesday, the Jet Airways board cleared preferential allotment of shares (at Rs 754 apiece) to Etihad, giving the latter a 24% direct stake in India's second largest airline by market share. Etihad will pay $379 million (about Rs 2,058 crore) for the stake, valuing Jet Airways at $1.57 billion, which is 32% higher than the current market value of the domestic carrier.

Etihad will take two board seats even as Goyal will hold 51% stake and remain non-executive chairman of Jet Airways. The Abu Dhabi airline will separately take majority shares in JetPrivilege, the frequent flyer unit of Jet Airways, for $150 million. It has already paid another $70 million to purchase Jet's slots at London's Heathrow airport.

 By-Kshitij

PGDM-2nd Sem.