Naresh Goyal to give up majority control in Jet, Etihad to raise stake to 49%

New Delhi: Etihad Airways, which owns 24 percent stake in Jet Airways, is also considering to hike its stake in the debt-laden airlines.

As per sources, Etihad may increase its stake in Jet by 49 percent, thus, diluting promoter Naresh Goyal's majority control. He along with his wife currently holds 51 percent stake in Jet.

Sources also said that Goyal would trim his stake to 20-25 percent and agree to voting rights on his stake being capped at 10 percent. Meanwhile Goyal's son Nivaan Goyal is likely to be included as Non Executive Director once a resolution planthe embattled company is finalised.

Jet, which is India`s biggest full service carrier by market share, is in desperate need of cash. The 25-year-old airline, founded by Naresh Goyal, owes money to lessors and vendors, has delayed salary payments to pilots and senior executives and is cutting flights on non-profitable routes to save money.

Cash-strapped Jet early in the month said it had defaulted on debt payments to a consortium of Indian banks and that it was in talks with the consortium led by State Bank of India.

The carrier has posted three consecutive quarterly losses of over Rs 1,000 crore each since March 2018. Rating agency Icra has also downgraded its ratings on the airline's long-term and short-term fund facilities.