The Central Government has been looking for potential investors in the ailing Air India for quite some time now. Earlier this year, the government invited expressions of interest in the sale of a stake in the national airline. But since the coronavirus pandemic hit the country, those plans have been put on hold.
The Government has now resumed the process again and has extended the deadline for the submission of expressions of interest by an additional two months to October 30, 2020. The government noted that qualified bidders will be intimated by the 20th of November. Interestingly, this is the government’s fourth deadline extension since plans for the sale of Air India’s stake were first announced earlier this year.
Read - Air India Announces Plans To Send Employees On Leave-Without-Pay For Up To 5 Years
Among the notable bidders for Air India’s stake is the Tata Group which has confirmed its interest in the acquisition and has hinted at placing a bid. The Indian Government is looking to sell 100% of Air India’s stake via divestment. This was modified from the earlier 76% proposal as it failed to attract bidders.
Interested bidders will also have to take on the airline’s overall debt of ₹23,286 crores. Many believe that the private management of the airline could fix the bulk of Air India’s problems. Reports emerged in March that several of Air India’s staff were either not paid at all or had seen pay cuts, illustrating the sorry state of the state-owned airline.
Also read - Air India Is Up For Sale Again: But What Has Changed?
Share
Tweet
