Tata Sons wins Air India bid for Rs 18,000 crore

Tata Sons wins Air India bid for Rs 18,000 crore

Tata Sons has won the bid to acquire national carrier Air India. More than half a century after the Salt-to-Software federation took control of the government, it has bid for ₹ 18,000 crore to retake the airline.In addition to the 100 per cent stake in Air India and its low-cost Air India Express, the winning bid will also include a 50 per cent stake in Air India SADS Airport Services Pvt Ltd (AISADS).

DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanda Pandey said Tata's Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Talace Pvt Limited emerged as the winning bidder.

As on August 31, 2021, Air India has a total debt of Rs 61,562 crore, of which ₹ 15,300 will be acquired by the auctioneer, Mr Pandey said. Therefore, India will transfer Rs 46,262 crore to Air India Assets Holding Limited (AIAHL), he said. AIAHL is an SPV created by the government.

Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said the winning bidder would not lay off any employees for at least a year and if they were laid off after one year, they would be given VRS (Voluntary Pension Scheme).

Gratuity and provident fund (PF) benefits will be provided to all employees, he said.

Mr Bansal added, "As of today, Air India has 12,085 employees, of whom 8,084 are permanent and 4,001 are contractors. In addition, Air India Express has 1,434 employees."

Welcome back, Air India 🛬🏠 pic.twitter.com/euIREDIzkV

— Ratan N. Tata (@RNTata2000) October 8, 2021

Video In Tamil