Blackstone Group reportedly mulling stake in Jet Airways’ loyalty programme
Blackstone Group LP is reportedly interested in buying a stake in Jet Airways’ loyalty programme JetPrivilege Pvt.
According to people with knowledge of the matter, the Blackstone offer values the business at about $429 million, although the size of the stake is unclear.
That would give some relief to troubled Jet Airways which may have to refinance about $400 million of debt just to stay afloat, says Kapil Kaul, South Asia CEO for CAPA Centre for Aviation.
However it is far from a done deal.
Etihad Airways owns 50.1% of JetPrivilege, and Blackstone will only go ahead if Jet Airways has secured adequate funding to guarantee its long term airline operations.
If a deal goes through, both Jet and Etihad would continue to hold a shareholding in the business.
JetPrivilege has about eight million members and made a profit last year.
The airline’s debt has ballooned to an estimated INR94.3 billion according to Bloomberg data.
Its shares have plunged more than 60% this year, giving it a market value of just $461 million.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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