Financial bids for Air India selloff by September 15: Report

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Qualified bidders are likely to put their financial bids by September 15 as Air India’s divestment enters its most crucial and final phase, Times Of India reported on Wednesday.

Tata Group and SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh are among the frontrunners for the bid. Tata Group has bid for the cash-strapped airline via Air Asia and its executives have been paying a visit to AI’s various airline sites across the country in the last few months.

Setting the stage for more strategic sales

Though Air India has been on the selloff list, the government and the bidders had sought to resolve a plethora of issues ranging from employee benefits to how government guarantees will be dealt with, has bogged down the divestment process. For future strategic sales, this will form as a template.

For a long time the commitment of the government has been questioned on its commitment towards the selloff programme, but if the Air India sales goes through, it could set the stage for more stake sales.

During the current fiscal year, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Shipping Corporation are among the high profile public sector companies in-line for sale, as the government chases a record target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore in FY 2021-22.