Shareholders of Jet Airways okay debt deal

mumbai — India’s Jet Airways said late on Friday that its shareholders approved a plan to convert existing debt to equity, paving the way for the troubled firm’s lenders to infuse funds and nominate directors to its board.

Jet’s board last week approved a plan by lenders, led by State Bank of India, for an equity infusion, debt restructuring and the sale or sale-and-lease-back of aircraft. The plan will mean the lenders will have a bigger holding than any other shareholder.

Currently, chairman Naresh Goyal owns a 51 per cent stake and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways owns 24 per cent.

Jet, which had net debt of ₹72.99 billion ($1.03 billion) as of end-December, has debt payments looming next month, according to rating agency ICRA. It has been unable to pay pilots’ salaries and has outstanding bills to aircraft lessors.

The company, India’s biggest full-service carrier, is struggling with competition from budget rivals, high oil prices and a weaker rupee. The share price took a beating in 2018, losing nearly 70 per cent of its value.

In a regulatory filing, Jet Airways said on Friday that 98 per cent of its shareholders voted to increase the share capital to ₹22 billion from ₹2 billion during a special meeting.

Jet, whose financial woes are set against the backdrop of wider aviation industry problems, has been in the red for four straight quarters. —