The Abu Dhabi-based airline had told Jet Airways's lenders last week that it would buy the airline's shares at Rs 150 apiece, which did not sit well with Naresh Goyal
Naresh Goyal, promoter of the debt-laden carrier Jet Airways, has agreed to step down from the restructured airline's board if Etihad Airways pays the 'right price' for increasing its stake in the airline, The Times of India reported.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline had told Jet Airways' lenders last week that it would buy the airline's shares at Rs 150 apiece, which did not sit well with Goyal.
"Goyal is not adamant about not stepping down. He is holding on till the right valuation is arrived at," a source told the newspaper, indicating that the promoter is pulling out all stops to save his carrier. "At Rs 150 per share, Etihad has valued Jet Airways at roughly $250 million, or nearly Rs 1,800 crore. Lenders got a valuation of Jet Airways which was much higher," the source added.
According to the newspaper report, Etihad's offer price of Rs 150 per share is not in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) takeover guidelines.
The markets regulator has laid out norms for a takeover, which state that the open offer price has to be the highest of the prices decided by four parameters. These are: the negotiated price between the buyer and the promoter, the average price of shares in the year before the takeover was announced, the highest price that the buyer paid in the 26 weeks before the takeover announcement and the average price of the 60 trading days before the takeover is announced.
In the past year, Jet Airways has seen its share price free fall to as low as Rs 163 from a high of Rs 830.
Etihad is reportedly supposed to make its offer clearer to lenders this week. State Bank of India is leading the group of lenders who have a total exposure of over Rs 8,200 crore to Jet Airways.
