Jet-Etihad deal likely at Rs 760 per share: sources

A deal between India's Jet Airways and Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways is in the final stages, sources told NDTV Profit on Tuesday. A deal may be announced as early as February, sources said.

The Gulf carrier has reportedly valued Jet's equity at $1.25 billion, which means the deal may happen at Rs 760 per share, sources said. Etihad is likely to pick up a stake in Jet via a mix of equity & warrants.

Jet has previously said it was in talks with Etihad, but the terms of the deal were not finalised. Etihad and Jet have a code-sharing agreement, and a tie-up could make Jet a more formidable competitor to state-owned Air India, while strengthening Etihad's position against Dubai-based Emirates Airline, which carries a big chunk of the traffic between India and the Middle East.

Jet shares, which have gained 180 per cent over the past year on hopes of a potential fund raising, were up nearly 2 per cent at Rs 617 on the Bombay Stock Exchange as of 2.05 p.m.

Other aviation stocks also traded higher today. Kingfisher Airlines shares were up 2.5 per cent at Rs 13.85 while SpiceJet shares traded 2.5 per cent higher at Rs 47.30. SpiceJet had reported a quarterly profit yesterday.

A deal between the two would be the first such investment by a foreign carrier in an Indian airline since foreign direct investment rules in the aviation sector were relaxed last year. The government allowed foreign carriers to buy up to 49 per cent stake in domestic carriers in September 2012.


(With inputs from Reuters)