Troubled airline Jet Airways is now working on a revival plan to slash its 82-billion-rupee (US$1.15 billion) debt and restore its cash flow to remain afloat.
The full-service airline, which has been operational for 25 years, has now sought shareholders’ approval to convert its debt into equity and appoint bank nominees on the board. An extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders has been called on February 21 for that purpose, Business Standard reports.
At the EGM the airline will also seek to increase the authorized share capital of the company to enable fresh preference shares to be issued. That will allow Jet Airways to issue fresh shares and convert loans into equity.
At present, the airline’s authorized share capital is 2 billion rupees (just over $28 million), while its paid-up equity capital (excluding share premium) is 1.13 billion rupees ($15.9 million). It has proposed raising authorized share capital to 22 billion rupees ($309 million). This would comprise 6.8 billion rupees ($95.6 million) of equity capital and 15.2 billion rupees (nearly $214 million) of preference share capital.
Meanwhile, the airline’s founder and chairman Naresh Goyal is negotiating a debt restructuring and fundraising plan. This is expected to bring down Goyal’s stake to less than 20% from the current 51%, while its partner Etihad Airways’ shareholding may rise from 24% to around 40%.
The lenders, a consortium of banks led by State Bank of India, would hold around 30%, while the rest will remain with the public.