Once bitten, twice prepared: Air India sale needs better scheduling
After the faux pas with the Air India sale process last year, the government is making its second, and final, attempt to find a buyer. Civil aviation minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Parliament on Wednesday: “The airline will have to close down if it’s not privatized.”
The initial signs for the now-or-never sale are encouraging. The government said that it has now decided to divest a 100% stake in the airline, unlike the previous attempt, where it had decided to retain a 24% stake.
But there’s a $4 billion question—the amount of debt the buyer of the airline will reportedly be saddled with. Is the 100% stake sale enough to move the needle?
