(PTI)
The government expects to complete the privatisation of Air India by year-end and the winning bidder is likely to be known by the end of June, Union minister Jayant Sinha said today. The debt-laden carrier, which is staying afloat on taxpayers’ money, would be put up for sale as “four different entities”, while private players can have at least 51 per cent stake in the airline.
The Minister of State for Civil Aviation said the information memorandum for the proposed strategic disinvestment of Air India would be issued in the next few weeks. The memorandum would lay out details about various aspects, including what would be available for bidding, assets and how much stake the government would own, he told reporters here.
“We expect to have a winning bidder by the end of June and the legal closing of this transaction by end of this calendar year,” Sinha said, adding that so far two formal expressions of interest have been received by the ministry. Legal closing means that by that time, “all of the legal agreements, security clearances, transfer of assets, transfer of title, deeds, everything will be complete. So Air India will be operated by somebody else”, he noted.
