Mumbai: State Bank of India chairman Rajnish Kumar on Friday said the lenders have received two “unsolicited” bids for Jet Airways and “one” more is expected by the end of the day, keeping the hopes for the revival of the grounded carrier alive. The consortium of 26 lenders, led by State Bank which now owns 51 percent in the airline, had invited expressions of interest (EoIs) between April 8 and 12 and had received four preliminary bids. Friday is the last day to submit financial bids and media reports said none of the four bidders–private equity firms IndiGo Partners and TPG, and Jet’s strategic partner Etihad and the country’s sovereign wealth fund NIIF–are unlikely to submit financial bid.
“Two unsolicited bidders have submitted EoI for Jet and we are expecting one more bid by the end of the day,” Kumar said told reporters at the earnings conference here. The lenders are offering 31.2-75 percent stake in the company on a fully diluted basis. Currently, the airline owes Rs 8,000 crore to the lenders. Jet Airways stopped operations on April 17 due to acute financial distress. Jet founder Naresh Goyal, who was forced to step down from the airline on March 25 as part of a deal with lenders, had earlier partnered with Future Trend Capital to submit a bid for investing in the airline. But later he reportedly withdrew the offer, as others threatened to walk away.
