Jet Airways-Etihad deal inching closer

NEW DELHI: After intense speculation for months, India's largest airline by way of market capitalisation Naresh Goyal's Jet Airways, - is set to announce a deal with Abu-Dhabi based carrier Etihad in the first week of February, sources said.

The contours of the proposed deal, sources told ET, would involve Jet Airways selling 24% stake to Etihad. Jet is believed to have got a valuation of Rs 6,000 crore, that would fetch around Rs 1,600 crore to the Indian carrier, for a 24% stake.

On current valuation, the deal could be struck at a 14% premium, to the current Jet Valuation.

"Jet Airways' overseas base may even be shifted to Munich from Brussels and a major part of overseas operations would be sourced to and from Abu Dhabi as per the deal," sources added.

Shares of Jet Airways rose 4.26% to Rs 611.85 a share, on the news that the deal is expected to go through in the next ten days.

Jet Airways is the second largest Indian carrier, with a market share of 25.6% of the total domestic air traffic.