Kingfisher Airlines, grounded for over a month and a half now for want of cash, has finally found a saviour in United Arab Emirates national carrier Etihad Airways. Etihad, which was also in talks with Jet, has agreed to pick up a 48 per cent stake in Kingfisher for a little over Rs 3,000 crore.

The deal's official announcement is likely to come around December 18, Mallya's 57th birthday, when he has organised a big bash at his sea-side Kingfisher Villa in Goa. The deal will be closed in two installments. Etihad will buy a 30 per cent stake this month and another 18 per cent by August next year as per a report in Mumbai Mirror.

Etihad this year has already bought into three international airlines -- Virgin Australia, Germany's Air Berlin and a 40 per cent stake in Air Seychelles. Senior Etihad officials are said to have visited the Kingfisher offices across India in the past couple of weeks.

In the first week of September, a team comprising members of its commercial and operations teams met with their counterparts in Kingfisher. In October, top Kingfisher and Etihad officials met twice in Abu Dhabi. The deal, sources said, was cracked last week in Abu Dhabi.

According to industry sources, Kingfisher requires a minimum of Rs 3000 crore to fly again. It owes Rs 60-70 crore in salaries to employees , Rs 950 crore to oil companies, Rs 500 crore to airports and Rs 7,000 crore to a consortium of 17 banks led by the State Bank of India.

Once Etihad infuses Rs 3,000 crore into the airline and brings to the table its own standing in the market, banks are likely to offer fresh loans to the troubled airline. Kingfisher's last request for a loan of Rs 4,000 crore was denied by the consortium of banks. Post the stake sale to Etihad, the loan is likely to be cleared.

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