Tata Sons acquires Air India, makes winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore

New Delhi: Tata Sons makes winning bid of Rs 18,000 cr for Air India, DIPAM Secretary informed on Friday. The salt-to-software conglomerate have won the bid to acquire debt-laden state-run Air India offering Rs 18,000 crore for acquiring 100 per cent shareholding. 

Tata Sons have defeated SpiceJet promoter to bag Air India. Tatas' bid of Rs 18,000 crore comprises taking over of 15,300 crore of debt and paying the rest in cash. The government is selling 100 per cent of its stake in the state-owned national airline, including Air India's 100 per cent shareholding in AI Express Ltd and 50 per cent in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd.

Welcome back, Air India pic.twitter.com/euIREDIzkV — Ratan N. Tata (@RNTata2000) October 8, 2021

Panel of ministers has cleared winning bid for Air India; two bidders had put in financial bids, DIPAM Secretary said. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has cleared the winning bid for Air India on October 4.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s government has been pushing to sell its entire interest in the loss-making airline, kept aloft by a bailout since 2012.

The government loses nearly 200 million rupees every day to run the national carrier, which has accumulated losses of over 700 billion rupees ($9.53 billion), officials have said.

An effort to auction a majority stake almost three years ago drew no bids, forcing the government to ease the terms. It had also extended the deadline multiple times due to the pandemic.