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May 26, 2001
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Air-India bid: Tatas take 51 per cent stake in SPV with SIA

Puja Mehra

The Tatas and Singapore International Airlines will float a special purpose vehicle to bid for the government's 40 per cent stake in Air-India. The Tatas will hold a majority stake of 51 per cent in the SPV, with the balance being held by SIA.

Top sources told Business Standard that the SPV will submit the financial bid to the government. While the Tata Group will pick up a 20.6 per cent stake from the government, SIA will hold 19.4 per cent of the national carrier.

"The consortium partners have decided that majority stake in the joint venture being floated should be retained by the Indians. Consequently, the Tata group will hold 20.6 per cent (51 per cent of government's 40 per cent A-I equity offered for sale)," they said.

They said that the paid-up capital of the SPV will depend on the valuation of Air-India, since the SPV has been formed with the sole aim of acquiring the government stake.

The Tatas and SIA had submitted separate individual responses to the government's call for expressions of interest, inviting potential strategic partners to pick up equity in the airline. The two bidders, however, submitted the technical bids as a consortium in February 2001.

The exact equity-sharing pattern between the two bidders for the government stake was not disclosed when the technical bid and the detailed business plan was submitted.

The Tata-SIA consortium is one of the two bidders left in the fray for Air-India. London-based NRIs, the Hindujas, are the other bidder. However, the Tata-SIA group is tipped as favourites for picking up the A-I stake.

The government has asked the department of divestment to obtain a security clearance for the Hindujas' bid. The Cabinet Committee on Security, however, is yet to clear the bid.

Air-India has reduced net losses from Rs 380 million in 1999-2000, to Rs 285 billion during 2000-2001. Total revenues during the same period have also increased, by 11 per cent from Rs 46.62 billion to Rs 51.80 billion, as per provisional results.

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