Air India sale: Modi govt’s first privatisation in 7 years; what next?
The long-awaited sale of India’s national carrier Air India is now done. The Tata group has snapped up the loss-making airline four years after the government announced its intention to sell it. Air India is now back to the Tata stable, 68 years after the government nationalised it.
Tata Sons’ enterprise value bid of Rs 18,000 crore with a cash component of Rs 2,700 crore was higher than the offer from a consortium led by SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh.
The acquisition gives the Tatas 141 planes and 900 slots at overseas airports, the most valuable of which are at London’s Heathrow airport.
