Carlyle Aviation Sells 1.42% Stake In SpiceJet Via Open Market

Carlyle Aviation Management Ltd., a major aircraft lessor, has offloaded 1.42% stake it held in SpiceJet Ltd. via open market transactions, an exchange filing showed on Wednesday.

The stake was offloaded between Sept. 17 and Sept. 23, the filing said. As part of the transaction, over 1.81 crore shares with voting rights were sold by the company.

The sale of shares has lowered Carlyle Aviation's stake in the airline to 2.34% from 3.75%.

The development comes after SpiceJet, on Sept. 10, said it has agreed to a restructuring settlement with Carlyle Aviation, which will involve writing off $40.17 million, or approximately Rs 337 crore, in lease arrears.

Under the restructuring plan, Carlyle Aviation will convert $30 million, or around Rs 250 crore, of SpiceJet's lease arrears into equity at Rs 100 per share, significantly increasing its stake in the low-cost carrier, the troubled Indian airline had said in an exchange filing.

Additionally, the lessor will convert $20 million, or nearly Rs 170 crore, of lease arrears into compulsorily convertible debentures of SpiceXpress & Logistics Pvt.

Carlyle Aviation's 1.42% stake sale in SpiceJet was disclosed a day after Authum Investment and Infrastructure Ltd. pared shares worth Rs 37.2 crore in the private carrier through a bulk deal.

Authum Investment sold 56.3 lakh shares, or 0.71% stake, in SpiceJet at a price of Rs 66.21 apiece, according to the data available on the BSE.

Meanwhile, the shares of SpiceJet closed 5.54% lower at Rs 62.38 apiece on the BSE on Wednesday, compared to a 0.3% rise in the Sensex. Year-to-date, the stock has risen by 3.88%.

Of the four analysts tracking the stock, one has a 'buy' rating, two recommend 'hold', and one suggests to 'sell', according to Bloomberg data.