Tata group seeks details of Air India sale: Report

Days after budget-carrier IndiGo expressed interest in buying out Air India's international operations, the Tata group, which initially owned the airline founded by its former Chairman JRD Tata, has informally sought details on the planned sale of Air India.

"They have asked us how do you want to do it, what will you do with debt, what will happen to the subsidiaries," Livemint quoted a government official as saying.

Senior Tata group executives raised the questions in informal discussions at various levels of the government after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet approved the disinvestment of debt-laden airline on June 28, the report said.

The Tata executives were told that their questions were in the realm of the group of ministers including Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari, Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal and Ashok Gajapathi Raju which is studying the sale of Air India, the report added.

On July 7, the owners of IndiGo, the only airline that has made a formal offer to acquire loss-making Air India, held an hour-long conference call to calm the nerves of jittery investors.

Speaking on the rationale behind their pitch to acquire debt-ridden carrier, IndiGo owners Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal emphasized IndiGo's need for Air India's international operations to gain access to several restricted and closed overseas markets.

"Air India's international operations would bring a very important element to our network," IndiGo co-founder Rahul Bhatia said during the conference call.

IndiGo, which commands a 41 per cent market share of India's airline industry, is keen on expanding to long-haul destinations. The airline is already operating its flights to seven international destinations like Dubai, Singapore, Sharjah, Bangkok, Doha, Muscat and Kathmandu.