Tatas lead race to acquire Air India

Tata Sons is the front runner among bidders to acquire the country’s flagship carrier Air India even as the government is working on formalities to declare the conglomerate’s name as the prospective owner of the state-run airline, which was once owned by the Tata group, three people aware of the development said on Friday, requesting anonymity.

One of the people cited above, working in an economic ministry, said while financial bids that opened recently indicated the Tatas as the successful bidder ahead of SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh, an elaborate evaluation by a ministerial panel was still pending and a formal announcement was unlikely immediately.