Tata Sons Said To Win Air India Bid As DIPAM States 'Official Approval Pending'

Amid the long financial crisis in the airline, Ratan Tata-led Tata Sons, on Friday, has bagged the bid for debt-ridden airlines Air India, as part of the Centre's move to privatize loss-making state-owned ventures.

A council of ministers on the disinvestment of Air India, led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, has apparently approved the takeover. 

Meanwhile, the official confirmation from the Centre government and Tata Sons is yet to come.

According to the earlier reports, Ajay Singh, Chairman of SpiceJet and Tata Group were the top two bidders in the race. 

According to the media reports, Tata had bid around Rs 3,000 crore which is more than the price set by the Union Government and around Rs 5,000 crore higher than what Singh had come up with. It has been said that the reserve price was set at Rs 15,000-20,000 crore in the Air India sale. 

Meanwhile, this is now the second attempt that Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the government had made in divesting a stake in Air India. However, in 2017, the government failed to sell 76 per cent of the stake. 

However, the government, this time, chose to go for bids for a 100 per cent stake in the airline

Meanwhile, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Finance Ministry, tweeted, "Media reports indicating approval of financial bids by the Government of India in the AI disinvestment case are incorrect. The media will be informed of the Government's decision as and when it is taken."

Anand Ranganathan, Author, Consulting Editor, and Columnist at Swarajya took to Twitter and wrote, “My own friend Nehru stabbed me in my back. I can only deplore that so vital a step was taken without giving us a proper hearing. – JRD Tata on the cruel and sudden nationalisation of his beloved Airlines. 68 years later, Air India returns to the Tatas. What a day. What a man.”