The more the merrier that’s the SpiceJet story as the race for this low cost airline hots up.

So besides the king of good and bad times Vijay Mallya and Wilbur Ross, SpiceJet’s bankers Rothschild have shortlisted two more bidders till now.

This takes the suitor tally to four, out of which three are just investors while the fourth Vijay Mallya is looking a big bang merger with SpiceJet.

Mallya’s offer involves a share swap, which could be either 1:3 or higher along with a cash advance of about Rs 200 crore. Under this offer once the share swap is done both the airlines will merge.
The present promoter will get Kingfisher Airline shares with a lock in period after which the promoters can exit.

The other simpler option for SpiceJet management is to bring in investors like Wibur Ross or other PE funds that specialise in stressed sales.

SpiceJet will issue fresh equity to these investors giving them about 14.9 per cent stake in the company and raising about $70-80 million.

Wibur Ross, the buyout guru of distressed assets, is the frontrunner among these investors which also includes PE funds from US.

While this will be less complex than a buyout, it could be only a short term solution to meet the cash flow needs of the company.

[source]