Air India returns to Tatas after 70 yrs; The group emerges highest bidder

New Delhi: Tata Sons’ subsidiary Talace was declared as the highest bidder for national carrier Air India under the divestment process initiated by the Government.

It is after seven decades that Tatas have got back the arilines they had launched in 1930s. It was JRD Tata who sucessfully conducted the first flight between Mumbai and Karachi in 1932.

Talace quoted an enterprise value of Rs 18,000 crore for 100 per cent equity shareholding of Centre in Air India along with that of Air India Express and AISATS, reports IANS.

Out of Rs 18,000 crore, Talace will retain Rs 15,300 crore, while the rest will be paid to the Centre as the cash component.

The bid was higher than the consortium led by industrialist Ajay Singh. The consortium had quoted an EV of Rs 15,100 crore.

On its part, Centre had stipulated a reserve price of Rs 12,906 crore.

There were only two bidders in the final stage of divestment.

Based on the bid results, Centre will enter into a share purchase agreement (SPA) with Talace by December-end.

The decision to enter into the sale purchase agreement with the Tatas was taken by — empowered Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism — it was announced here by Divestment Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey.

“The next step will be to issue the Letter of Intent (LoI) and then sign the SPA following which, the conditions precedent would need to be satisfied by the successful bidder, the company and the government,” an official communique said.

“It is expected that the transaction will be completed by December 2021.”

Besides, under the SPA, jobs of Air India’s employees will be safeguarded for one-year.

Currently, Air India has a total strength of 12,085 employees, which includes 8,084 permanent ones.

In addition, Air India Express has 1,434 employees.

According to Civil Aviation Secretary Rajeev Bansal, no employee will be removed for one-year.

In the second year, if an employee has to be removed, then a VRS option will be provided.

Additionally, employees will be provided gratuity and provident fund benefits.

The post-retirement medical benefits to employees will be provided.

All in all, Tata Sons’ subsidiary Talace will among other assets such as human resources get more 140 aircraft as well as 8 logos.

Notably, after the transaction, Tata Sons will have two full service carriers — Vistara and Air India — along with two low cost airlines — Air India Express and Air Asia India — and a ground and cargo handling company AISATS.

In terms of fleet, Tatas will get Air India’s 117 wide-body and narrow body aircrafts and Air India Express’s 24.

A significant number of these aircrafts are owned by Air India.

It will also get to operate these aircraft on over 4,000 domestic and 1,800 international routes.

Air India’s frequent flyer programme has more than three million members.

Furthermore, eight brand logos would be transferable to the Tatas which they have to retail for a period of five years.

In terms of financials, Tatas will need to take care of the Rs 20 crore loss per day that the company suffers.

There is also a three-year business continuity clause in the agreement. Tatas would also need to maintain 51 per cent stake in the airline for atleast one-year.

Nonetheless, Tatas will be given full operational control of the divested entities.

On the other hand, the transaction does not include non-core assets including land and building, valued at Rs 14,718 crore, which are to be transferred to GoI’s Air India Asset Holding Limited (AIAHL).

Post the announcement, Ratan Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, tweeted: “Welcome back, Air India!”.

“The Tata Group winning the bid for Air India is great news! While admittedly it will take considerable effort to rebuild Air India, it will hopefully provide a very strong market opportunity to the Tata Group’s presence in the aviation industry,” he said.

Meanwhile, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said: “I congratulate the Tata Group on winning the bid for Air India and wish them all the success. It was my honour and privilege to be shortlisted for bidding for Air India. I am confident that the Tata Group will restore the glory of Air India and make all of India proud.”

“I would also like to congratulate the government on the successful disinvestment of Air India. They ran a transparent and flexible process and gave new impetus to India’s disinvestment programme.”

According to N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons: “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.”