Kingfisher climbs 9% on talks with foreign airlines

Shares of Kingfisher Airlines today surged about 9% after its Chairman Vijay Mallya said the carrier was in talks with foreign airlines for a possible stake sale.

After gaining about 10% during the day, shares of the company finally settled at Rs 15.70, up 8.65% on the BSE.

Following the government move to allow FDI policy in the civil aviation sector, Chairman of debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines Vijay Mallya today said the carrier was in talks with foreign airlines.

"Yes, we are in talks" Mallya said on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the UB Group promoted by him in Bangalore today.

He, however did not provide details citing "privacy and confidentiality" reasons.

Buying was also seen in other UB group stocks, where United Breweries Holdings Ltd surged 10.82%, UB Engineering shot-up by 7.31%, McDowell Holdings (3.03%) and United Spirits (0.86%).

United Breweries and Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers, however, closed 0.99% and 2.14% lower respectively.

Diageo and UB Group had yesterday said they are in talks for a deal under which the UK-based drinks major may pick up stake in the latter's United Spirits, but maintained there is no certainty of the transaction.

In the broader market, the BSE benchmark Sensex ended at 18,632.17, down 62.2 points.