Air India Proposed to Acquire 100% Stake In AirAsia India

According to the PTI news agency, Air India, owned by Talace Private Limited (Tata Group) has proposed to acquire a 100% stake in AirAsia India airline.

It must be noted that Tata Sons Private Ltd currently owns 83.67 per cent of no-frills carrier AirAsia India, with the remaining 16.33 per cent held by AirAsia Investment Ltd (AAIL), which is part of Malaysia’s AirAsia Group.

The proposed deal has now been submitted by Air India to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for approval.

Tata Group Owns Three Airlines

Talace Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, purchased Air India and Air India Express last year.

Tatas was chosen as the successful bidder for the loss-making Air India in October 2021. It made a bid of ₹18,000 crores, which included a cash payment of ₹2,700 crores and the assumption of the carrier’s debt of ₹15,300 crores.

In addition, the Tatas have a joint partnership with Singapore Airlines to operate the full-service carrier Vistara.

Air India Limited and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Air India Express Limited (AIXL), are primarily in the business of providing domestic scheduled air passenger transport, international scheduled air passenger transport, air cargo transport, and charter flight services in India.

A notice filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) stated;

“The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of the entire equity share capital of AirAsia (India) Private Limited (Air Asia India/ Target), by Air India Ltd (AIL), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Limited”

Deals that exceed a specific threshold must be approved by CCI, which seeks to promote competition while also preventing anti-competitive behaviour in the marketplace.

AirAsia India, which began operating in June 2014, provides scheduled passenger, cargo, and charter flight services throughout the country. However, it does not have international operations as of now.