Aviation stocks gain on stake sale buzz

Aviation stocks, on Monday, gained substantially with expectations that foreign airlines would soon pick up stake in Indian carriers Jet Airways and SpiceJet.

There has been speculation since last week that Jet Airways was close to signing a deal with Etihad Airways to raise $400 million, and, similarly, Air Asia was negotiating to acquire a stake in SpiceJet.

SpiceJet

With the sell-off buzz going round in the market, Jet Airways shares gained over 13 per cent intra-day before closing with a gain of 10.81 per cent at Rs.560.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. On Friday, the company’s shares had gained 15 per cent.

Similarly, the stock of SpiceJet closed with a gain of 12.98 per cent at Rs.44.40.

The buying momentum in aviation counters was so high that even Kingfisher Airlines without any positive factor gained 4.96 per cent to close at Rs.14.40.

“Though few investors have evinced interest in the company post-Government of India allowing FDI in civil aviation sector to foreign airlines, it will be very premature to comment on the possibilities of any fresh equity issuance to such interested parties or confirm/deny names of any specific entity,” Spicejet said in a clarification to the BSE.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-business/aviation-stocks-gain-on-stake-sale-buzz/article4138650.ece