Jet Airways-Etihad Deal Passes Latest Bureaucratic Hurdle
AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE » AUGUST 5, 2013 by NEELAM MATHEWS Etihad Airways chief executive James Hogan (left) and Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal. (Photo: Etihad Airways) August 5, 2013, 12:10 PM Clearance of Etihad Airways’s $380 million investment in Jet Airways by India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board ( FIPB ) last week has paved the way for completion of the deal. The airlines now await approval from the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs ( CCEA ), which oversees foreign investment proposals of more than $200 million, and security clearances of foreign nationals. Numerous caveats in the shareholder agreement now address concerns about the possibility that Etihad Airways would gain control of Jet Airways, despite the fact that the deal would give Etihad only a 24-percent stake. The restructured airline’s board would consist of 12 members, four appointed by Jet and two by Etihad (compared with the origi...