Tata Sons wins bid for acquiring national carrier Air India

Tata Sons will regain control of Air India as it takes over 100 per cent of the government’s stake in the national carrier, marking the end of a protracted struggle to sell the airline and the first step in the Centre’s mega privatisation push.

The Mumbai-based conglomerate placed a winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore, of which Rs 2,700 crore will be paid in cash and the remaining Rs 15,300 crore will be the absorbed from the over Rs 60,000 crore debt the airline had as of August 31, 2021.

The government, in 1953, had taken control of the airline from the Tata Group, which founded the carrier as Tata Airlines in 1932.