Mumbai: Tata Group has emerged as the successful bidder of the divestment process of the national carrier Air India. The Tata Group’s holding company, Tata Sons, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Talace Pvt. Ltd, submitted a winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore as the enterprise value of Air India.
Consequent to the acquisition, the Tatas will own 100-per cent stake in Air India (a full-service airline operating in domestic and international markets) as also 100 per cent in its subsidiary Air India Express (a low-cost carrier airline which focusses on short-haul international operations especially in the Middle East market) and 50 per cent in the joint venture Air India SATS (airport services on ground and cargo handling). The total permanent and contractual employee strength of Air India and AIXL is 13,500.
Commenting on the development, N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd, said, “At the Tata Group, we are delighted to be declared as the winner of the bid for Air India. This is a historic moment, and it will be a rare privilege for our Group to own and operate the country’s flag-bearer airline. It will be our endeavour to build a world-class airline, which makes every Indian proud. On this occasion, I would like to pay tribute to J R D. Tata, pioneer of Indian aviation, whose memory we cherish.”
The Tatas will get ownership of iconic brands like Air India, Indian Airlines and the Maharajah. Air India has a fleet of 117 wide-body and narrow body aircrafts and AIXL has a fleet of 24 narrow body aircrafts. A significant number of these aircrafts are owned by Air India.
Air India provides a unique and attractive international footprint. Over two-third of Air India’s consolidated revenues come from the international market. It is the No.1 player from India in the international market having a strong footprint across geographies like North America, Europe and Middle East with attractive slots & bilateral rights. The Air India frequent flyer program has more than 3 million members.
