Tata group targets stake in Air India
Tata group targets stake in Air India
NEW DELHI (AFP): India's Tata group has pulled out of the race for a stake in domestic state-run carrier Indian Airlines, but has submitted a bid for international airline Air India.
"We have not put in the bid for Indian Airlines. We have submitted one for Air India," a Tata group official told AFP.
The deadline for the final submission of the bid for both the state-owned airlines was Friday, which was earlier extended from the end of January.
The Tata group, which pioneered aviation in India, submitted initial bids for both state-run international carrier Air India and Indian Airlines.
The government has permitted up to 26 percent of Indian Airlines to be sold to a strategic partner, with the remainder going to the airlines' employees, financial institutions and the public.
With Tata out of the competition for a stake in Indian Airlines, the fight for the domestic carrier is likely to narrow down to India's Hinduja business family and consumer electronics Videocon group.
An official working for the British-based billionaire Hinduja brothers told AFP the group had tied up with a consulting firm of Lufthansa AG to bid for both Air India and Indian Airlines.
Indian Airlines, the country's largest domestic airline, has a fleet of 56 aircraft, including 11 Boeing 737s operated by subsidiary Alliance Air.
At least five bidders are in the race for Air India including Tata-Singapore Airlines, Air France and Delta Airlines, and the Hindujas.
Local media reports said London-based steel magnate L.N. Mittal, who has British Airways and Qantas as his technical advisors, has also dropped his bid for Air India.
The government is selling a 40 percent stake in Air India and its privatization has attracted strong interest because the airline has landing rights in key cities in Europe, the United States and the Middle East.
Experts say any airline which acquires a stake in Air India would be in a strong position globally because routes over India provide a corridor between Asia and Europe.
Air India has an aging fleet of 26 aircraft and is currently unable to fly on many of the routes for which it has landing rights.
Meanwhile, Tata Sons, the holding company of India's biggest industrial conglomerate, the Tata Group, announced on Friday it had won a case to evict a cybersquatter from 10 contested Internet domain names.
Tata Sons had filed a complaint at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) against an Indian agency for registering 10 domain names which included ratantata.com, tatapowerco.com, tatatimken.com and jrdtata.com.
The Tata group received the decision in its favor from WIPO earlier this month after a complaint was filed in December, a Tata spokeswoman told Reuters by telephone from Bombay.