Tata, SpiceJet Promoter Ajay Singh In Contention To Acquire Air India, Due Diligence By Final Bidders To Commence In 2 Weeks: Report

Steel-to-salt conglomerate Tata group and SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh has been shortlisted for acquiring India’s state-owned airliner Air India, reports Times of India.

The two contenders will now be asked to submit a binding financial bid after completing a due diligence on Air India’s books. The due diligence will begin in couple of weeks.

The Tata group, which already has a footprint in the airlines business, has shown interest in acquiring Air India, which at one point of time was under the Tata umbrella.

According to earlier reports, SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and two other investors were also working out a plan to acquire Air India.

Singh is said to be keen on buying 100 per cent in Air India in personal capacity. He is reportedly backed by a consortium of investors including a foreign fund.

Singh co-founded SpiceJet in 2005 and then sold it to Kalanithi Maran in 2010. He returned in 2015 to turn around the ailing airline.