Air India Privatisation: After IndiGo and Jet Airways, Tata Group may also opt out from bidding

After IndiGo and Jet Airways opted out from bidding for Air India, it has now been reported that Tata Group might also do the same. According to an NDTV report, Tata Group is not happy with the conditions as it thinks they are very unfavourable. 

The government in one of its conditions has said that the winning bidder cannot merge the airline with existing businesses as long as the government holds a stake. The winner might also be required to list Air India and would need to abide by conditions designed to safeguard employee interests, restricting its ability to cut staff.

Earlier, the Jet Airways management had held discussions with its alliance partners Air France-KLM, Delta, and other investors to put up a proposal. But the airline has now decided to call off its efforts.

“We welcome the government move to privatise Air India. It is a bold step. However, considering the terms of offer in the information memorandum and based on our review, we are not participating in the process,” Jet Airways Deputy Chief Executive Officer Amit Agarwal told the newspaper.

Jet Airways' decision came just four days after IndiGo airlines decided to step back from the process, making the Air India's disinvestment process difficult. 

Befor that, budget carrier IndiGo, which had initially evinced interest in acquiring Air India's international operations, said it was not in fray to bid for the national carrier as such option was not available under the disinvestment plan.

"From day one, IndiGo has expressed its interest primarily in the acquisition of Air India's international operation and Air India Express. However, that option is not available under the government's current disinvestment plan for Air India.

"Also, as we have communicated before, we do not believe we have the capability to take on the task of acquiring and successfully turning around all of Air India's airline operations," president and whole time director of IndiGo Aditya Ghosh said in a statement.

IndiGo, a market leader in the Indian skies with close to 40 per cent share, was one of the first players to show interest in the ailing airline soon after the government gave its in-principal approval last June for the disinvestment of the national career.