Just ahead of the taking over formality, Tata Sons Chief N Chandrasekharan called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and later visited the Air India headquarters.
New Delhi: Soon after taking over of Air India, Chairman of Tata Sons N Chandrasekharan on Thursday said the Tata Group is totally delighted that this process is complete and happy to have Air India back. In a statement, he added that the Tata Group is looking forward to walking with everyone to create a world-class airline.
“We’re totally delighted that this process is complete and happy to have Air India back in the Tata Group. We look forward to walking with everyone to create a world-class airline,” N Chandrasekharan said.
Just ahead of the taking over formality, he called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and later visited the Air India headquarters.
“Shri N Chandrasekaran, the Chairman of Tata Sons called on PM @narendramodi,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted, along with a photograph of the meeting.
Read Tata Sons official statement:
After a competitive bidding process, the government had on October 8 last year sold Air India to Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata Group’s holding company, for Rs 18,000 crore.
Air India was started by the Tata Group in 1932. However, after the country got independence, the airline was nationalised in 1953 by the then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
As per a report by news agency PTI, the Central government has notified the agreement between Air India and special purpose vehicle AIAHL for the transfer of non-core assets.
The Tata Group would pay Rs 2,700 crore cash and take over Rs 15,300 crore of the airline’s debt. The deal also includes sale of Air India Express and ground handling arm AISATS.
The transaction was to be completed by December 2021, but the deadline was later extended till January 2022, owing to longer-than-expected time taken to complete procedural work. This will mark the return of Air India to the Tata fold after 69 years.
As a precursor to the handover process, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) on January 24, notified the framework agreement entered into by and between Air India Ltd and AI Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL) for transfer of assets of the national carrier post it ceasing to be a public sector company.
While this is the first privatisation since 2003-04, Air India will be the third airline brand in the Tatas’ stable – it holds a majority interest in AirAsia India and Vistara, a joint venture with Singapore Airlines Ltd.
