Tata Sons has acquired national carrier Air India with bid of Rs 18,000 crore, said Tuhin Kant Pandey, Secretary, DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management) on Friday.
"Talace Pvt Ltd of Tata Sons is the winning bidder at Rs 18,000 crores. The transaction is expected to close by the end of December 2021," he added.
Apart from 100 per cent stake in Air India and its low-cost arm, Air India Express, the winning bid also includes a 50 per cent stake in ground-handling company Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited (AISATS).
The stake sale process, which began in January 2020, faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2021, the government asked potential bidders to put in financial bids.
Tata Group was among the multiple entities that had put in an initial expression of interest (EoI) in December 2020 for buying the Maharaja.
Last month, reports said Tata Sons had won the bid. However, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said that nothing had been finalised.
Tata Airlines founded by JRD in 1932
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (JRD) Tata founded the airline in 1932. It was called Tata Airlines then.
In 1946, the aviation division of Tata Sons was listed as Air India and in 1948, Air India International was launched with flights to Europe.
The international service was among the first public-private partnerships in India, with the government holding 49 per cent, the Tatas keeping 25 per cent and the public owning the rest.
Later, in 1953, Air India was nationalised.
