Etihad Airways, Volcan Investments withdraw from Jet Airways reinvestment plan

August 14, 2019: Etihad Airways has said it will not reinvest in India’s Jet Airways, citing "unresolved liability issues" as the reason. In another setback, Volcan Investments, the family trust of Vedanta chairman Anil Agarwal has withdrawn exploratory expression of interest a day after he expressed interest in the grounded airline.

"The EoI for Jet by Volcan was exploratory in nature. On further evaluation and considering other priorities, we intend to not pursue this further,” Agarwal said.

Earlier this year, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier had presented a conditional expression of interest to reinvest in Jet Airways as a minority stakeholder, with an agreed partner, but unfortunately, this did not materialise.

Etihad had acquired a 24 percent stake in Jet Airways in 2013, at a time when the airline needed significant financial support. "Since then, Etihad has consistently and constructively sought and advanced solutions to help resolve Jet's issues," the airline said in a statement.

The deadline to submit expression of interest was August 10, which saw three suitors - Volcan Investments, Panama-based investment company, Avantulo Group, and Russian Fund Treasury RA Creator.

Jet Airways discontinued operations in April this year following a severe cash crunch. It has financial liabilities of more than Rs25,000 crore.