Tatas likely to raise up to Rs 15,000 crore in loans to support Air India purchase: Report

With Tata Sons winning the Air India bid of Rs 18,000 crore to acquire 100 per cent of the debt-laden State-run carrier, the group may raise up to Rs 15,000 crore through a syndicated loan to support its acquisition, The Economic Times reported quoting sources.

State Bank of India (SBI), which has already issued a bank guarantee for the bidding, is likely to be the lead banker in the proposed syndication. The loan may be raised with a three-year maturity offering of about 7 per cent, the report stated.

DH couldn't independently verify the report.

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It added that foreign banks Standard Chartered, Citi, Deutsche, JP Morgan and Barclays are also in talks with the group.

Air India will be the third airline brand in the Tatas' stable -- it holds a majority interest in AirAsia India and Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines Ltd.

Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (JRD) Tata founded the airline in 1932. It was called Tata Airlines then. In 1946, the aviation division of Tata Sons was listed as Air India and in 1948, Air India International was launched with flights to Europe.

The international service was among the first public-private partnerships in India, with the government holding 49 per cent, the Tatas keeping 25 per cent and the public owning the rest. In 1953, Air India was nationalised.

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(With PTI inputs)