Jet Airways, Kingfisher to raise Rs3,000 crore

Mumbai: India's two leading private airline operators, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, are set to raise around Rs2,500 crore ($500 million) between them in order to fund expansion plans and working capital requirements.

Jet is raising the bulk of the money, with Rs2,000 crore ($400 million), and will consider various financing options such as QIP, GDRs, ADRs and FCCBs.

The company will hold an extraordinary general meeting in Mumbai on 24 September to seek shareholder approval for this move.

UB Group's Kingfisher plans to raise another Rs500 crore ($100 million), which is over and above the rights issue of Rs500 crore it had announced earlier in July.

''We have received interest from multiple funds to invest in the company. So, we have taken an enabling resolution for $100-million GDR issue to facilitate it. This is apart from the Rs500-crore rights issue announced earlier in which the promoters will participate to the extent of their shareholding,'' Ravi Nedungadi, CFO, UB Group, informed media sources.

This would bring total fund raisings to around Rs1,000 crore through a combination of GDR and rights issue. It is likely that most of the funds would be deployed towards retiring the airline's debt.