BENGALURU, India: Shares of Jet Airways Ltd. fell as much as 11.4 percent on Monday after media reports said a buyout offer from Middle Eastern carrier Etihad Airways was non-binding and might not guarantee a deal for the struggling Indian carrier.
Etihad, which owns a stake of about 24 percent in Jet, submitted a bid for the airline, representatives of the State Bank of India (SBI) unit overseeing the sale of the stricken carrier said on Friday.
That had raised hopes of a bailout for cash-strapped Jet, which has about $1.2 billion in bank debt.
The Mint newspaper said on Monday that Etihad wanted a commitment from banks on additional loans once it infuses equity into the company. The Middle Eastern carrier had not been able to find a local partner and lenders may need to take an 80 percent cut on their outstanding loans to Jet Airways, the newspaper said, citing banking sources. Shares of the carrier, which have tumbled almost 70 percent over the past year, were down 5 percent as of 4:45 a.m. GMT.
Jet, which owes vast sums to its lessors, pilots, fuel suppliers and other parties, stopped all flights from April 17 after its lenders refused to extend more funds to keep the carrier flying.
SBI also received two unsolicited, non-binding bids, the bank said on Friday. Jet and SBI were not immediately available for comment.
