Jet Airways shares tank 7% on fresh concerns over Etihad deal

Shares of Jet Airways on Friday slumped 7 per cent amid concerns that fair trade watchdog CCI is seeking explanations from the company and Etihad to ascertain whether they failed to provide information on certain commercial pacts that could raise anti-competition concerns.

Jet’s scrip ended the day 7.04 per cent lower at Rs. 272.75 on the BSE. In intra-day, the stock plunged 7.9 per cent to Rs. 270.20 — its 52-week low. At the NSE, the scrip dipped 7.03 per cent to settle at Rs. 272.55. Following the downfall in the stock, the market value of Jet slipped by Rs. 234 crore to Rs. 3,098 crore.

“The concerns over Jet-Eithad deal are rising and news flow is negative. The stock is already in a downtrend and was further pushed down today by about 7 per cent,” said Milan Bavishi, Head Research, Inventure Growth and Securities.

The deal, involving Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad’s purchase of 24 per cent stake in Naresh Goyal-led Jet Airways, was approved last month by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Meanwhile, this clearance has been challenged in the Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) by national carrier Air India’s former Executive Director Jitendra Bhargava, while BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has written to capital market regulator SEBI asking that Etihad be considered a ‘person acting in concert’ with Jet’s current promoters for this deal.

CCI Chairman Ashok Chawla on Thursday said that the two carriers have been issued show-cause notices on a separate issue relating to their certain commercial agreements.