Tata Sons Ltd clarified on Friday that it is interested in acquiring a controlling stake in Jet Airways but no deal has been made yet. The cash-strapped airlines has been looking to raise equity to meet its debt obligations and operating costs.

For quite some time now, there have been various media reports over Tata rescuing the carrier. Putting the speculation to rest, the company after a board meeting on Friday said, "Over the last few days there has been growing speculation in the print and electronic media about Tata's interest in Jet Airways. We would like to clarify that any such discussions have been preliminary and no proposal has been made."

Earlier on Thursday, Jet Airways denied a media report that said that it would likely merge with Tata SIA Airlines, the joint venture between Singapore Airlines and the Tatas that runs Vistara.

UAE based Etihad Airways currently holds 24 percent stake in Jet Airways. It is still unclear as to what would happen to it if and when Tata steps in. India's FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) policies do not allow foreign investors to hold more than 49 percent stake in an Indian business.

Jet Airways is the second largest airline in India after IndiGo, as of February 2016, with a 21.2 percent passenger market share.