Lenders to Jet Airways have asked Jet Airways founder chairman Naresh Goyal to pledge his 51 per cent stake in the airline before they release interim funding to save the airline from possible bankruptcy, says a report by the Financial Express. They have also asked Goyal and other directors to quit the airline’s board so that they could take management control. With Jet’s foreign partner, the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways that owns 24 per cent in the airline, deciding not to help the airline financially, Goyal may not have too many options but to agree with the tough conditions put forward by the lenders led by the State Bank of India (SBI).
Bankers who are privy to consultations told the Financial Express that their consortium would give additional loans in proportion to their current exposure in Jet Airways, as per the plan being considered. Meanwhile, Etihad is also looking to exit the airline and it has offered its 24 per cent holding to the SBI, according to media reports.
