Tata Board takes stock of acquisition

The Board of Directors of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group, on Tuesday discussed the acquisition of Air India and the fundraising plans of the Tata Group holding company for the ~18,000crore acquisition.the company will be raising around ~15,000 crore as debt from banks to fund the Air India acquisition.

The Board also discussed the integration plan among the Group’s airlines. The Tata group owns a 51 per cent stake in Tata SIA Airlines and 83 per cent stake in the low-cost carrier, Airasia India.

The shareholders had earlier cleared the company to raise upto ~40,000 crore for the Air India acquisition, and roll out of its Tataneu app.

Tata Sons did not make any official comment on the Board meeting.

A banker said they are waiting for loan proposals from Tata Sons for the Air India acquisition and with its strong balance sheet and a good credit rating, it will not have any problems getting funds at cheaper rates.

The company will also look at raising funds as external commercial borrowings, the official said.

Tata Sons’ net debt was ~25,396 crore as of August 31, 2021 and the company’s liquidity position is backed by its balance of cash and liquid investments of ~2,718 crore as of March 31, 2021.