($1 = 82.8280 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)
(Adds details, shares)
BENGALURU, Feb 27 (Reuters) - India's SpiceJet Ltd said on Monday it will convert around $100 million in
dues to an aircraft lessor into equity and debentures and raise
fresh capital of $300 million, sending the shares up as much as
6%.
The low-cost carrier will convert its dues to Carlyle
Aviation Partners into new shares worth $29.5 million, giving
the commercial aviation investment and servicing arm of Carlyle
Group Inc a 7.5% stake in the company.
The airline will also transfer $65.5 million worth of
compulsorily converted debentures of SpiceXpress and Logistics
to Carlyle Aviation.
Carlyle will convert the debentures of SpiceXpress, a
separate airline cargo company owned by SpiceJet, into shares of
the cargo business at a later date.
The transaction will cut SpiceJet's debt by over $100
million, it said in a statement.
The company had a net debt of 10.19 billion rupees ($123
million) as of March 2022, while cash and cash equivalents were
at 66.08 million rupees as of September-end.
SpiceJet will also seek shareholders' approval to raise
fresh capital by issuing securities worth 25 billion rupees
($301.8 million) to qualified institutional buyers. The airline
has separately raised another 25.56 billion rupees by hiving off
its cargo business, SpiceXpress, into a separate unit, it said.
Shares of SpiceJet jumped as much as 6.4% on the
announcement.
The company's plan to raise capital comes as its cash
reserves dwindle and new entrant Akasa Air jostles for a share
of the market, while rival Air India ramps up its revamp plans
with mammoth orders for new aircraft.
SpiceJet's market share slipped to 7.3% in January from 7.7%
in December, while IndiGo retained the lion's share of
56.3%. Akasa grabbed 2.8%, while Air India's share was steady at
9.2%, data from the country's aviation regulator showed.
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