Tata group to take over Air India by this weekend

On Monday, senior government authorities told the media that Air India is likely to be handed over to the Tata group by this weekend.

On October 8, 2020, after a competitive bidding process, the government had sold Air India to Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata group's holding firm for Rs 18,000 crore. Following that, on October 11, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was released to the Tata group guaranteeing the government's willingness to sell its 100% share in the airline.

On October 25, the government inked the share purchase agreement (SPA) for this contract. On Monday, officials told the media that the remaining formalities concerning this agreement are likely to be done in the coming few days and the airline will be given to the Tata group by the end of this week. As a part of the transaction, the Tata group will additionally be given Air India Express and a 50% share in the ground handling arm Air India SATS.

On October 8, Tatas had beat the Rs 15,100-crore offer by a consortium led by SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and the reserve cost of Rs 12,906 crore set by the government for the sale of its 100% share in the loss-making carrier.

While this will be the first privatisation since 2003-04, Air India will be the third airline brand in the Tatas' stable; it owns a majority interest in AirAsia India and Vistara, a joint enterprise with Singapore Airlines Ltd. The disinvestment of Air India is determined to be on January 27, 2022. The closing balance sheet as of January 20 has to be rendered on January 24 so that it can be checked by Tatas and any changes can be impacted on Wednesday, as per Vinod Hejmadi, Director Finance, Air India.

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