Tata Sons have purchased Air India Airlines again to save it from its losses. The government on Monday signed a share purchase agreement worth Rs 18,000 crore with Tata Sons for the sale of the national carrier Air India.
In this months timeline, the government had accepted an offer made by Talace Pvt. Ltd., a unit of the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate, to pay ₹2,700 crore cash and take over ₹15,300 crores of the airline’s debt.
However, on October 11, 2021, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was issued to the Tata Group, confirming the government’s willingness to sell its 100% stake in the airline.
Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted, “Share Purchase Agreement signed today by Government with Tata Sons for strategic disinvestment of Air India.”
Based on the agreement, the sale also includes the ground handling arm of Air India– AISATS.
In the bid race, Tatas beat the Spicejet promoter Ajay Singh and the reserve price of Rs 12,906 crore set by the government for the sale of its 100% stake in the loss-making carrier. This deal will be the first privatisation since 2003-04, Air India will be the third airline brand under Tatas Umbrella. The company already holds a majority interest in AirAsia India and Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines Ltd.