Jet Airways completes buyout of Air Sahara for Rs 1,450 crore

Mumbai/ New Delhi, Apr 12 (UNI) Leading private carrier Jet Airways today closed the buyout deal with Air Sahara for a price of Rs 1,450 crore.

Of this, Rs 500 crore has already been paid while Rs 400 crore is to be paid immediately, the company said in a communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The balance Rs 550 crore is payable in four interest free annual equal installments starting on or before March 30, 2008. At the current interest rate, the net payable value (NPV) of the lumpsum price is in the vicinity of Rs 1,200 crore.

Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal said this price is 40 per cent less than the originally agreed price. ''We never changed our position and it remains the same that was in January 2006. It is a commercially viable deal. The deal will help the shareholders as well in terms of manpower, especially when the Indian aviation sector is facing manpower crunch.'' More UNI