Lenders to invite bids for stake sale in crisis-hit Jet Airways on Saturday

The resolution plan for Jet Airways, which is operating with about a fifth of its original fleet, has run into further trouble. Even as there’s no sign of any investor so far, the lenders have decided to ask for expressions of interest (EoIs) for a stake sale on April 6. They have set April 9 as the deadline for receiving EoIs, giving investors three days to respond. To prevent Jet from being grounded, lenders’ consortium led by State Bank of India will release Rs 150 crore as emergency fund to the airline, which has a debt of more than Rs 8,500 crore besides unpaid dues to lessors and employees.

The resolution plan prepared by the lenders had estimated an emergency fund of Rs 1,500 crore for the airline, but after a lengthy meeting of bankers and Jet executives on Thursday, a decision was taken to infuse Rs 150 crore for now.