Monday, November 18, 2013

Commercial pact with Etihad not to override Jet Airways board powers’

New Delhi: Jet Airways (India) Ltd. and Etihad Airways have submitted revised documents to the government seeking to allay the Foreign Investment Promotion Board’s (FIPB) concerns over control of their proposed venture, saying the commercial co-operation agreement (CCA) will not override powers vested with the company’s board.
“We confirm that the CCA will not undermine the powers of the board of the company at any time to enter/exit from such commercial arrangement,” according to a joint note submitted by Jet Airways and Etihad Airways to the department of economic affairs (DEA).
Naresh Goyal-led Jet Airways has also changed the shareholders agreement and amended the investment agreement and the articles of association, as suggested by the FIPB, headed by DEA secretary Arvind Mayaram, official sources said.
They said the cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) could take up the deal for approval in the next few weeks. The CCEA will consider the proposal because the foreign investment involved is higher than Rs1,200 crore. Earlier, the FIPB said Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) would ascertain if control rests with the Jet Airways board, as per the revised CCA.
The FIPB had approved a proposal for Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways to buy a 26% stake in Jet Airways for Rs2,058 crore with certain riders on 29 July. The riders include Jet Airways seeking the government approval before changing the shareholders agreement with Etihad and any arbitration to take place under Indian law, not English law as proposed earlier.
The two airlines agreed to reduce Etihad’s representation on the Jet Airways board to two from three, besides vesting Goyal, Jet’s founder-chairman, with the right to deliver a “c

 NAUSHAD ALAM
PGDM IST

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