SPICEJET IN TALKS TO SELL STAKE
Image : Narinder Nanu/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
Mumbai,India : SpiceJet Ltd., 500285.BY +7.17% India's second-biggest budget airline, is in advanced discussions with two private equity PEHN.EB 0.00% investors to raise at least $50 million, a person close to the development said Tuesday.
The deal for a stake sale, with either one or both investors, could be completed within the next two months, said the person, who didn't want to be named. One of the investors is a large U.S. private equity fund, the person said without elaborating.
These discussions come in the wake of a long-awaited decision by the Indian government earlier this month, to allow foreign airlines to own up to 49% in an Indian airline. However, non-airline foreign investors have long been allowed to own majority stakes in Indian airlines.
SpiceJet was in discussions with investors earlier this summer as well, but a deal never shaped up. Analysts say that the opening up of foreign direct investment in airlines can help SpiceJet get a better valuation from the private equity investors, because now the airline has the option to sell to foreign carriers as well.
26/09/2012 : Kenan Machado and Anirban Choudhury / The Wall Street Journal.
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