Shareholders of Jet Airways approved a plan to swap the airline's lenders' loans for equity at a 21 February extraordinary general meeting.

The debt-for-equity swap is part of the bailout plan driven by a consortium of lenders led by the State Bank of India that was approved by Jet's board on 14 February.

The plan allows for key lenders to covert their debt into 114 million shares worth Rs10 ($0.14) each, generating Rs1.14 billion in equity. This would result in the lenders becoming the largest shareholders in the company, says Jet, and will allow the lenders to appoint directors to its board.

It is unclear when the debt-for-equity swap will take place, and what additional equity it plans to raise as part of the bank-led resolution plan it is under.

Jet has also yet to clarify how the airline's two largest shareholders - chairman Naresh Goyal and Etihad Aviation Group - will have their stakes diluted as a result of the swap. Goyal holds a 51% stake in the airline and Etihad 24%.

Jet has previously said that it has a Rs85 billion funding gap that will be covered through proceeds from aircraft sales, new loans and additional equity, but has not provided any further detail on what mix of funding will be used to plug that gap.

The loss-making airline has been seeking fresh capital after a torrid 2018, amid major challenges in the Indian airline sector.

Source: Cirium Dashboard

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