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MUMBAI, Feb. 23 (Reuters) – India's Jet Airways Ltd. announced Friday that its shareholders had approved a plan to convert existing debt into equity, opening the way for lenders of the troubled company to brew funds. appoint directors to its board of directors.
Last week, Jet's board of directors approved a lender plan, led by the State Bank of India, providing for a capital injection, a debt restructuring and the sale or leaseback of aircraft.
The plan means that lenders will have a larger stake than any other shareholder.
At present, President Naresh Goyal holds a 51% stake in the company and Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi holds 24%.
Jet, which had a net debt of 72.99 billion rupees ($ 1.03 billion) at the end of December, is expected to go into debt next month, according to the ICRA rating agency. He has not been able to pay the pilots' salaries and has unpaid invoices to the aircraft lessors.
The company, the largest full-service carrier in India, faces competition from fiscal rivals, high oil prices and a low rupee. The stock price was up in 2018, losing nearly 70% of its value.
In a regulatory filing, Jet said Friday that 98% of its shareholders had voted for a capital increase to 22 billion rupees ($ 309.8 million) instead of 2 billion rupees at a special meeting .
Jet, whose financial difficulties are placed in the context of broader problems in the aviation sector, has been in the red for four consecutive quarters.
(1 $ = 71.0200 Indian rupees)
Report by Promit Mukherjee in Mumbai and Tanvi Mehta in
Bengaluru
Edited by Alasdair Pal and Jacqueline Wong
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