Tata Sons, government in advanced talks for Air india bid: Report

In the run up to placing bids for debt-ridden Air India, Tata Sons Ltd, Tata Sons and the Government seem to have reached an agreement.

Final talks between the two are underway and a bid may be submitted as early as this month, people in the know of the developments told Mint.

Both sides have held discussions and come to an understanding over the Air India's real estate assets, including staff quarters and residential colonies, one of the sources told the publication.

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Most of Air India’s real estate assets have been transferred to Air India Assets Holding Ltd in 2019 as part of the disinvestment process, the report said.

Discussions on allocation of debt absorption also took place.

“The Tata group already has debt worth around $27 billion and is not keen on absorbing a significant amount of debt. We understand that as per the current talks, the government may absorb around $5 billion worth of debt while the rest could be transferred to the Tata group so that the burden is equally shared," the report quoted a soource as saying.

DH could not independently verify the report.

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The government-run airline has failed to turn a profit for 14 years.

The Tata Group already owns AirAsia India and Vistara Airlines and plans to make it even bigger in the aviation industry.

The government has started the process to sell its entire 100 per cent stake in Air India. After its unsuccessful attempt to sell the national carrier in 2018, the government in January last year restarted the divestment process, but the pandemic forced it to extend the date for submission of expression of interest (EOI) five times.

(With agency inputs)