Looking forward to working with govt to complete Air India acquisition in few months: Tata Sons

Tata group holding firm Tata Sons on Monday said it is looking forward to completing the process of acquiring Air India over the next few months by working with the government.

Tatas' acquisition of Air India, however, does not include non-core assets: Reuters

Tata group holding firm Tata Sons on Monday said it is looking forward to completing the process of acquiring Air India over the next few months by working with the government.

The board of the company will have a pre-scheduled meeting on Tuesday in which winning the bid to acquire Air India may find a mention but it is too premature for the board to get into the details of how to chart the future course of the national carrier, according to sources.

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

TRENDING NOW

When reached out for comments, a company spokesperson said,"We have been declared the winner of the bid. We look forward to working with the Government of India to complete the process over the next few months. We will be able to comment further only later."

The spokesperson did not comment on how Tata Sons planned to fund the acquisition; how it planned to integrate Air India into the group and how the group's overall civil aviation business with three brands -- Vistara, AirAsia India and Air India -- would be managed in future.

Last week, the government had announced that Talace Pvt Ltd, a unit of the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate, won the bid with Rs 2,700 crore cash payment and Rs 15,300 crore debt takeover proposal.

The deal, which is expected to be completed by December-end, also includes acquisition of low cost carrier Air India Express and 50 per cent stake in joint venture ground and cargo handling firm Air India SATS (AISATS).

Although Air India has been in losses ever since its merger with domestic operator Indian Airlines in 2007, through its acquisition Tatas will get 4,400 domestic and 1,800 international landing and parking slots at domestic airports, as well as 900 slots at airports overseas.

Tatas' acquisition of Air India, however, does not include non-core assets including land and building, valued at Rs 14,718 crore, which are to be transferred to the government's Air India Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL).

TAGS:

Air India Tata Sons