Jet Airways climbs 9% on reports Naresh Goyal will sell controlling stake

Shares of Jet Airways surged as much as 9 per cent in intra-day trade to Rs 319.80 apiece on BSE after a TV report said that airline’s promoter Naresh Goyal has agreed to sell his controlling stake in the company. The stock, however, gave up some gains by close.

“Naresh Goyal has been in talks with all three prospective investors, Tata group, Etihad and a consortium of Air France, KLM and Delta. Prospective buyers are unwilling to move ahead without taking a controlling stake in the company,” CNBC-TV18 reported on Wednesday.

Naresh Goyal holds 51 per cent stake in Jet Airways while Etihad has 24 per cent stake.

On Monday, private carrier Jet Airways said that it has appointed Robin Kamark as nominee director of stakeholder Etihad Airways PJSC with effect from December 1. Kamark, who has spent 17 years at Scandinavian Airlines System, will replace Harsh Mohan as nominee director, Jet said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Indian conglomerate Tata Sons said it was in preliminary talks with debt-laden Jet, but has not made a proposal to acquire a stake.

The stock ended 5.2% higher on the BSE at Rs 308.80 levels, as compared to 0.6%, or 204 point rise in the S&P BSE Sensex to 35,717 levels.