No bids for Air India yet, govt still hopeful
NEW DELHI: No bids have been received so far for stake in Air India (AI), the government said on Wednesday even as it hoped of getting a good response on the last day of the formal bidding process on Thursday.
“We expect good response before bid closes tomorrow (Thursday),” civil aviation secretary RN Choubey told PTI responding to a query.
Earlier in the day, he said no bids have been received for the stake sale so far. The deadline for the expression of interest ends tomorrow and the request for proposal could be issued only after June 15.
On May 23, Choubey had said the highest bidder for the airline would be known by August-end. But, the highest bidder might not be the successful bidder, he said, adding the government intends to complete the disinvestment by year-end. Significantly, he had said the government could decide against selling state-run Air India if it does not get “adequate” price for it.
“The government has the right to sell or not to sell Air India if the bid price is found to be inadequate,” Choubey had told reporters.
“Though the transaction advisor (EY) will assess the enterprise value, the right price for the airline will be decided by us,” he said.
The government had on 28 March unveiled plans to sell up to a 76% stake in the loss-making carrier, and transfer the management control to private players.