After 68 years, 'Maharaja' Air India lands on Tata Group's runway
The Tatas are back in Air India's cockpit after 68 years!
The salt-to-software conglomerate was on Friday declared the winner of the bid for the debt-ridden national carrier Air India, as it pipped a consortium led by SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh.
Tata Son's Special Purpose Vehicle M/s Talace Pvt Ltd quoted Rs 18,000 crore for 100 per cent shares of Air India and Air India Express and 50 per cent of AISATS against a reserve price of Rs 12,906 crore set after the bids were presented. The losing bid of Ajay Singh quoted Rs Rs 15,100 crore.
"Welcome back, Air India," Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan N Tata tweeted. Air India, owned by the Tatas, was nationalised by the government in 1953 while its bid to take over the national carrier fell flat in the 1990s.
A group of ministers comprising Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia cleared the winner on Oct. 4 after the bids were submitted on Sept. 15 and opened 14 days later.
This culminates the government's fresh attempt since 2017 to sell the national carrier, which had gulped Rs 1.1 lakh crore of taxpayer funds since 2009-10. The government now expects to close the transaction by December-end after issuing the Letter of Intent (LOI), signing of the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) and regulatory approvals.
It also marks the first privatisation of a government-owned company since 2003. The government had last sold Balco in 2001 and Hindustan Zinc in 2002, which ran into controversy.
As the 2017 attempt failed to get an interested bidder, the government had in October last year sweetened the bid clause relating to the transfer of Air India's debt to the new investor, giving bidders flexibility to decide on the quantum of debt they want to absorb. The bids that came in were made up of 85:15 ratio of debt takeover and upfront cash.
Also Read | Coming full circle: Tatas back in Air India cockpit
With the new acquisition, the Tatas will be adding one more airline to its fold. It currently operates Vistara in a venture with Singapore Airlines and budget airline AirAsia India with Malaysia's AirAsia Group. Air India has around 4,400 domestic and 1,800 international landing and parking slots at domestic airports and 900 slots overseas.
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary, told a press conference that the Tatas' bid comprises taking over of Rs 15,300 crore of Air India's debt and a payment of Rs 2,700 crore in cash. The bid excludes non-core assets, including land and buildings, worth Rs 14,718 crore and will not be transferred to the Tatas.
As on Aug. 31, Air India has a debt of Rs 61,562 crore and out of this, Rs 15,300 crore will have been taken over by the Tatas. The remaining Rs 46,262 crore debt will be transferred to Air India Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL), an SPV formed by the government that will also get hold of the non-core assets.
"Year after year, Air India was suffering from losses...Since 2009-10, the government has put in Rs 54,584 crores as cash support and Rs 55,692 crores as guarantee support for Air India. This means the taxpayers have put in Rs 1.1 lakh crore in Air India...this would mean Rs 20 crore a day," Pandey said.
Air India has eight logos that will be handed over to the new bidder but the Tatas cannot transfer it for a period of five years. It can sell it after five years but again with a condition that it cannot be transferred to any foreign entity.
On the employee side, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said the Tatas would retain all employees and nobody would be retrenched for one year. If they are to be removed after, Pandey said, they would be offered a Voluntary Retirement Scheme. He also said the post-retirement medical benefits of the employees would be protected.
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