<p class="title rtejustify">Shares in Jet Airways Ltd surged for the fourth straight day on Friday to hit a near 5-month high, as a proposed acquisition of the debt-laden carrier by Indian conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd was likely to be inching towards a close.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The topic of acquiring Jet Airways will be discussed at the Tata Sons board meeting on Friday and the members may approve starting due diligence on the deal, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">However, a decision on closing the deal would certainly not be made during the meeting and nothing was final, the source said.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Jet Airways posted its third consecutive quarterly loss on Monday and said it was undertaking a review of its business to cut costs and boost revenues in order to stay afloat. The airline is seeking funds by raising equity and selling a stake in its loyalty programme.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">For Tata, a deal with Jet Airways would help transform the group from being a fringe player in the country's airline industry into a dominant international carrier.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Tata's businesses range from IT services to car-making. In aviation, it runs the Vistara full-service carrier with Singapore Airlines Ltd and operates low-cost domestic carrier AirAsia India along with AirAsia Group Bhd.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The Indian government was not driving the deal as reported by some media, the source told Reuters, adding that Tata Sons is looking at it as a business opportunity.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Jet Airways' shares, down more than 61 percent this year as of Thursday's close, rose as much as 14.4 percent to 366.95 rupees on Friday — their highest since June 27 — after closing 25 percent higher in the previous session. </p>
<p class="title rtejustify">Shares in Jet Airways Ltd surged for the fourth straight day on Friday to hit a near 5-month high, as a proposed acquisition of the debt-laden carrier by Indian conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd was likely to be inching towards a close.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The topic of acquiring Jet Airways will be discussed at the Tata Sons board meeting on Friday and the members may approve starting due diligence on the deal, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">However, a decision on closing the deal would certainly not be made during the meeting and nothing was final, the source said.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Jet Airways posted its third consecutive quarterly loss on Monday and said it was undertaking a review of its business to cut costs and boost revenues in order to stay afloat. The airline is seeking funds by raising equity and selling a stake in its loyalty programme.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">For Tata, a deal with Jet Airways would help transform the group from being a fringe player in the country's airline industry into a dominant international carrier.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Tata's businesses range from IT services to car-making. In aviation, it runs the Vistara full-service carrier with Singapore Airlines Ltd and operates low-cost domestic carrier AirAsia India along with AirAsia Group Bhd.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">The Indian government was not driving the deal as reported by some media, the source told Reuters, adding that Tata Sons is looking at it as a business opportunity.</p>.<p class="bodytext rtejustify">Jet Airways' shares, down more than 61 percent this year as of Thursday's close, rose as much as 14.4 percent to 366.95 rupees on Friday — their highest since June 27 — after closing 25 percent higher in the previous session. </p>