MUMBAI: UAE-based Etihad has emerged as the sole bidder for Jet Airways as bidding for lenders’ stake came to a close on Friday. Lenders led by State Bank of India had put together a resolution process according to which the majority equity stake picked up by the banks would be sold to a strategic player.
Etihad’s name is interesting as the airline was in the past non-committal on infusion of fresh equity when the airline was trying to stave off a default and stay operational. The Abu Dhabi carrier also confirmed its conditional bid for a minority stake in Jet on Friday.
“Etihad re-emphasises that it cannot be expected to be the sole investor, and that amongst other requirements, additional suitable investors would need to provide the majority of Jet Airways’ required recapitalisation,” Etihad stated.
Earlier, SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar said two unsolicited bids were received and that they were hopeful of getting one binding bid. “Few unsolicited offers have also been received which the lenders may deliberate upon subsequently,” SBI Capital Markets said.