Jet Air shares yo-yo on stake sale news

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: After surging over 6% to hit a fresh 52-week high of R590, shares of Jet Airways retracted and settled with a loss of over 5% following heavy profit-booking on Tuesday amid speculation that Abu Dhabi-based Etihad was set to make an investment in India’s No 2 carrier.

The stock finally ended the day at R527.15, down 5.2% from its previous close on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), while at NSE, the stock closed 4.5% lower at R530 after touching an intra-day high of R594.

Top government sources confirmed Jet was discussing a stake sale to Etihad, but a senior Jet Airways official refrained from answering queries on the matter, saying the company would not comment on speculative reports, one of which put the estimated deal value at R1,600 crore.

Jet has been in the thick of speculation after the government allowed for- eign direct investment (FDI) in aviation companies this year.

Etihad’s chief executive officer said on Tuesday that the airline was in talks with unspecified Indian airlines.

“We're involved in negotiations in India,” James Hogan said in an interview broadcast on Bloomberg-UTV news channel. He declined to give details.

Over the last one month the Jet Airways scrip has risen 61.6%, as of Tuesday's close, on speculation about the promoter looking out for offloading a stake.