Tata Group likely to get control of Air India by this weekend

New Delhi, January 24

The government is preparing to hand over the actual control of Air India to Tata Group, which won the bid to buy the national carrier last year, by this weekend, say officials.

After a competitive bidding process, the government had on October 8 last year sold Air India to Talace Private Ltd. — a subsidiary of the Tata Group’s holding company — for Rs 18,000 crore.

On October 11, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was issued to the Tata Group confirming the government’s willingness to sell its 100% stake in the airline. On October 25, the Centre signed the share purchase agreement (SPA) for this deal.

The officials said on Monday that the remaining formalities regarding this deal are expected to be completed in the next few days and the airline will be handed over to the Tatas by the end of this week. The Tatas will also be handed over Air India Express and a 50% stake in ground handling arm Air India SATS.