Tata’s Air India proposes to buy AirAsia India

BENGALURU: Tata Group-owned Air India has proposed to buy the entire equity share capital of low cost carrier AirAsia India, in which Tata has a majority stake, to merge into a single airline, according to an application with the competition commission of India (CCI).
The autos-to-steel conglomerate bought state-run carrier Air India in a $2.4 billion equity-and-debt deal, regaining ownership of what used to be India’s flagship carrier after nearly 70 years.
Tata Sons has an 83.67% stake in AirAsia India.
“This was on expected lines as it makes no sense for the Tata Group to own stakes in separate airlines,” said Vinamra Longani, head of operations at Sarin & Co, a law firm specialising in aircraft leasing and finance.