New Delhi, Jan 14 (Agencies) : Jet Airways shares tanked nearly 6 per cent on Wednesday after the carrier said its promoter chairman Naresh Goyal has pledged his entire shareholding with state-run Punjab National Bank.

Mr Goyal's 51 per cent stake in Jet Airways is valued at over Rs 2,600 crore. UAE based Etihad holds 24 per cent stake in Jet as a strategic partner while the remaining shares are owned by institutional and retail investors.

The reason for pledging of shares was not disclosed. The airline has not stated how much money it has borrowed from PNB nor could it be reached for comments. The bank also could not be reached for comments immediately.

Jet Airways shares have outperformed broader markets over the last three months, rising over 90 per cent. The carrier has benefitted from the troubles at low-cost carrier SpiceJet as well as from falling crude oil prices. According to estimates, crude oil costs account for nearly 40 per cent of operational expenses of domestic carriers.

The loss-making airline is saddled with a debt of Rs 9,794 crore as of the September quarter, down 7 per cent from Rs 10,576 crore as of March 2014. This has helped it cut its interest burden by 15 per cent to Rs 212 crore at the end of the September quarter.

Jet Airways has a market capitalisation of Rs 5,274 crore. It has 113 planes in its fleet, of which 26 are owned by the carrier and the rest 87 are leased.

As of 09.23 a.m., Jet Airways shares traded 4.5 per cent lower at Rs 443.30 and underperformed the broader Sensex, which traded flat.