Naresh Goyal pulls out of race for Jet Airways

Naresh Goyal may not be able to re-board Jet Airways with some of the prospective investors objecting to his entry, informed sources said on Tuesday.

In view of the opposition from other bidders, Goyal is said to have withdrawn from the race.

According to the industry sources, Etihad and TPG Capital could consider pulling out of the race if Goyal is allowed to submit his bid for the crisis-hit airline.

Seeking to take pilot's seat after he was nudged by the lenders to quit, Goyal had placed his bid through Jetair Pvt Ltd and backed by two foreign enntities.

Lenders of Jet Airways led by the State Bank of India (SBI) are currently in the process of selling their stakes in the airline to recover the dues to the tune of over Rs 8,400 crore.

SBI Caps, the merchant banking arm of SBI, is currently shortlisting investors who would then be able to submit their proposals by April-end.

In a statement, SBI had on Monday said that prospective bidders would be selected shortly as SBI Caps' legal team is working on the Expressions of Interest (EoI) received from the investors.

"The proposed equity conversion by banks, if any, will be undertaken as a transitory mechanism to facilitate the bidding-cum-sale process," SBI said in a statement.

SBI is acting on behalf of the group of lenders as part of the bank-led resolution process.

--IANS

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