Hours after Bloomberg Quint reported that the acquisition of national carrier Air India went to Tata Sons, the Indian government has rubbished all such media reports.
The Secretary to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) stated in a tweet, “Media reports indicating approval of financial bids by Government of India in the AI disinvestment case are incorrect. Media will be informed of the Government’s decision as and when it is taken.”
Bloomberg had earlier reported, “Tata Sons is set to take over Air India. A panel of ministers accepted a proposal from bureaucrats, who recommended the conglomerate’s bid ahead of an offer from entrepreneur Ajay Singh. An official announcement is expected in the coming days.”
The Economic Times (ET) had also reported that the Indian government had chosen the winning bid, after judging the offers made by Spicejet founder Ajay Singh and Tata Sons against a ‘minimum reserve price’. The sale involved 100% ownership of the airline, besides a 50% stake in Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd/Citing sources, ET stated that the government had put the minimum reserve price between ₹15000- ₹20000 crores.
The airline was founded by JRD Tata in 1932 as ‘Tata airline’ and was renamed ‘Air India’ in July 1946. It was in July 1953 that the then-Nehru government took over a majority stake in the airline from Tata Sons. At the time, JRD Tata was extremely anguished by the manner Nehru had nationalised Air India without any dialogue or notice.