UB promoters plan to infuse Rs 350 crore into Kingfisher Airlines

To raise Rs 1,000 crore through GDR

UB Group promoters through their primary investment vehicle - UB Holdings, is closing in on an option to invest Rs 350 crore in UB Group company Kingfisher Airlines Limited by the end of the current quarter or early next. In addition to this, the UB Group is planning for conversion of Rs. 395 crore of unsecured loans & preference capital from UB Group into equity.

Post this infusion, Kingfisher Airlines is likely to raise close to Rs 1,000 crore through GDR, most probably listing them on Luxembourg Exchange. Citibank, Morgan Stanley, CLSA and UBS have been appointed as the bankers and preliminary road shows have been conducted.

The promoters of UB Group currently hold a little over 66 per cent in Kingfisher Airlines and post the dilution is expected to hold around 51 per cent. Off the 66 per cent holding by the promoters, around 69 per cent has been pledged.

Kingfisher Airlines is also in the midst of restructuring its loans burden of Rs 7,500 crore and is expected to have a clearance from the RBI in the near future. According to UB Group, the proposal is for a 9-year repayment of all loans with a two-year moratorium on principal repayments.

The stock of Kingfisher Airlines on the National Stock Exchange gained more than 4.5 per cent to close at Rs 52 on a day when the Benchmark index Nifty gained 42 points.