Tatas lead race to acquire Air India
NEW DELHI: Tata Sons is the front runner among bidders to acquire the country’s flagship carrier Air India even as the government is working on formalities to declare the conglomerate’s name as the prospective owner of the state-run airline, which was once owned by the Tata group, three people aware of the development said on Friday, requesting anonymity.
One of the people cited above, working in an economic ministry, said while financial bids that opened recently indicated the Tatas as the successful bidder ahead of Spicejet promoter Ajay Singh, an elaborate evaluation by a ministerial panel was still pending and a formal announcement was unlikely immediately. The panel, Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM), is headed by home minister Amit Shah; finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, and commerce minister Piyush Goyal are its members.
The ministries of finance, home and civil aviation did not respond to email queries on the matter. While a Tata group spokesman did not respond to HT’S queries, its external spokesperson declined comment.
A second person said the financial bids had been vetted by the core group of secretaries on disinvestment (CGD) headed by the cabinet secretary this week and the matter will now be considered by the AISAM. “No official announcement can be made before the ministerial group formally approves the name of the winner,” he said.
Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary in the department of investment and public asset manage