The Group of Ministers (GoM) led by Home Minister Amit Shah will meet soon to take a decision on the winning bidder for Air India, a top government official said on Friday.
“Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) will meet soon to decide,” the official told The Hindu when asked about the outcome of the financial bids submitted by Tata Sons and SpiceJet’s Ajay Singh earlier this month. AISAM is the name given to the GoM headed by Amit Shah. It includes Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
The statement also means that senior bureaucrats have already met to do the groundwork before a final approval by the GoM and may have identified the winner of the stake sale.
Earlier in the day, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) denied media reports that the government had approved Tata’s bid as the winning bid.
The government will divest its 100% stake in Air India, Air India Express and a 50% stake in ground handling company AISATS. The bids for the national carrier are being sought at enterprise value or combined value of debt and equity of AI, which allows potential buyers flexibility to indicate how much debt they are willing to take on.
As per the plan, 15% of the total enterprise value will have to be paid upfront in cash to the government and the rest will be used to reduce the debt burden of the airline.
Air India’s debt stands at ₹43,000 crore after the government transferred a debt amount of ₹29,464 crore to a special purpose vehicle in order to attract buyers.
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