One of the richest Indian families has its eye on Jet Airways

• The cash-strapped airline’s creditors, led by SBI, have reportedly secured the interest of Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja, who together constitute one of the richest families in the UK with a £22 billion fortune.
  
• The Hinduja Group will commence the process of due diligence in the airline after obtaining the approval of Jet’s promoters Naresh Goyal and Etihad to do so.
  
• The news comes a week after Etihad said it wanted to limit its participation in Jet’s turnaround. The UAE-based airline submitted a conditional bid that stipulated it’s desire to be a minority investor.

It seems that Jet’s creditors are counting on a last-minute bid to prevent the airline from going under.

The cash-strapped airline’s creditors, led by State Bank of India (SBI), have reportedly secured the interest of Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja, who together constitute one of the richest families in the United Kingdom with a £22 billion fortune.

Sources told ET that the Hinduja Group will commence the process of due diligence in the airline after obtaining the approval of Jet’s promoters Naresh Goyal and Etihad to do so. The group will reportedly work on SBI’s investment banking arm on assessing Jet’s finances.

The deal will be costly, however. The sources added that the Hinduja brothers would likely require Jet’s creditors to take a significant discount on their outstanding loans of ₹120 billion.

As things stand, the Hinduja brothers are reportedly set to meet with representatives from Etihad and SBI in Dubai on May 23rd.

The news comes a week after Etihad said it wanted to limit its participation in Jet’s turnaround. The UAE-based airline submitted a conditional bid that stipulated it’s desire to be a minority investor.

Etihad said that it would invest a maximum amount of ₹17 billion in the airline to retain its minority stake - 11% of the estimated ₹150 billion needed to kickstart the airline’s revival. This investment is contingent on a capital infusion from the banks.

Bidding for a majority stake of as much as 75% in Jet Airways ended two weeks ago, and the airline’s creditors received only one bid from the entities that it had shortlisted - Etihad Airways.

Jet’s creditors have taken a majority stake in the airline and are selling their equity holding to recover their dues.

In the event that a mutually beneficial deal isn’t agreed upon and a stake sale doesn’t take place, Jet’s creditors will have no choice but to refer the airline to bankruptcy court.



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