Mumbai-based conglomerate Tata Sons Tata Sons has been selected as a successful bidder to acquire national carrier Air India on Friday. The salt-to-software conglomerate placed a winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore. Along with the assets, the new owner will also take on around Rs 15,300 crore of debt, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.
"Talace Pvt Ltd of Tata Sons is the winning bidder at Rs 18,000 crores. The transaction is expected to close by the end of December 2021," said Tuhin Kant Pandey, secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
He added, "Tatas will have to retain all employees of Air India for one year but can offer voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) in second year."
Attaching a message and a photo, Ratan Tata tweeted "Welcome back, Air India" after winning the bid.
Terming it as a historic moment, Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran also issued a statement. "At the Tata group, we are delighted to be declared as the winner of the bid for Air India. This is a historic moment, and it will be a rare privilege for our Group to own and operate the country’s flag bearer airline. It will be our endeavour to build a world-class airline which makes every Indian proud. On this occasion, I would like to pay tribute to JRD Tata, pioneer of Indian aviation, whose memory we cherish.”
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