AI sale: Govt looks past airlines to other bidders

NEW DELHI: The government is counting on investors outside the airline industry as suitors for Air India to keep competition high for the national carrier that is up for sale.

Neeraj Kumar Gupta, secretary in the department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) said here that the eligibility criteria for the strategic disinvestment is only financial and does not require investors to have prior experience in the aviation sector.

“We are not talking about the technical or managerial expertise of the investor (in the bid document) so that there is an equal opportunity. Even in the case of Air India, we are not looking at airlines alone,” said Gupta.

Speaking at the India investment conference organized jointly by industry chamber Assocham and Private Equity and Venture Capital Association of India, Gupta said that so far the department of investment and public asset management has received a lot of queries and clarifications regarding the Air India disinvestment from prospective airline and non-airline investors.

Allowing investors with a strong financial position to bid in a consortium with other businesses widens the pool of potential bidders for the assets the government is exiting.

The emphasis on the government welcoming businesses other than airlines on an equal footing with airlines for the 76% stake in Air India comes after some airlines dropped out of the race for the national carrier.

Jet Airways (India) Ltd recently stated that it is not participating, while Interglobe Aviation Ltd, the operator of Indigo, the country’s largest airline, said it has no capability to successfully turn around Air India.