Lenders to cash-strapped Jet Airways weigh open auction process

Stake sale likely to be completed in 2 months; banks to infuse Rs 1,500 cr immediately to restore normalcy

Lenders to cash-strapped Jet Airways plan to sell their stake in the airline through an open auction process over the next two months, seeking maximum value for the asset. 

In the meantime, the consortium led by State Bank of India will provide emergency funding of around Rs 1,500 crore to bring operations back to normal, in phases. A senior executive of a large public sector bank said this is a transitory arrangement in which the lenders will acquire control, run the process of transparent bidding, and receive final bids by the end of April. 

The bids will then be evaluated