On 8 October, Friday, the Secretary, Department of Investment and Asset Management, (DIPAM), the Government of India, announced that TATA Sons have been chosen as winning bidders for Air India.
Speaking at a press conference, DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta announced that Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Pvt Ltd, has been chosen as the winning bidder for Air India.
As informed by the DIPAM, the EV quote by Talace was Rs 18,000 crores, which includes debt of Rs 15,300 crores and a cash component of 2700 crores.
Ratan Tata welcomes Air India home
Ratan Tata, the former chairman of the Tata Group has shared a tweet saying ‘Welcome back, Air India’.
Welcome back, Air India 🛬🏠 pic.twitter.com/euIREDIzkV
— Ratan N. Tata (@RNTata2000) October 8, 2021
Sharing an emotional note, Ratan Tata wrote, “Tata Sons winning the bid for Air India is great news. While it will take considerable effort to rebuid Air India, it will provide a very strong market oppurtunity for the Tata Group’s presence in the aviation industry.
On an emotional note, Air India, under the leadership of JRD Tata, at one time, had gained the reputation of being one of the most prestigious airlines of the world. Tatas will have the oppurtunity of regaining the image and reputation it enjoyed in earlier years. Mr JRD Tata would have been overjoyed if he was in our midst today.”
Espressing gratitude to the government of India, Ratan Tata added, “We also need to recognise and thank the government for its recent policy of opening select industries to the private sector.”
“Welcome back, Air India,” he concluded.
Details of the winning bid
The winning bid does not include Air India’s non-core assets such as land and building, which are collectively valued at Rs 14,718 crores. DIPAM has announced that a letter of intent will be issued and a share purchase agreement will be signed soon.
The non-core assets are to be transferred to the Govt of India’s AIAHL.
Tata Sons emerged as the winning bidders ahead of a consortium led by one Ajay Singh.
Air India comes home to TATA
It is notable here that Air India was initially established and owned by Tata. During Nehru’s regime in 1953, the government of India had nationalised Tata Air Lines and had operated it as domestic carrier Indian Airlines and international carrier Air India. Tata Air Lines was launched by JRD Tata, the visionary industrialist in 1932.
JRD Tata was opposed to the idea of the government nationalising the airline. JRD Tata had even stated famously that Nehru has ‘stabbed him in the back’.
