- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Pramod Thomas
VISTARA chairman Bhaskar Bhat on Monday (2) said that the airline is considering a bid for the government’s stake in state-run carrier Air India.
Bhat was speaking at the unveiling of Vistara’s first Boeing (BA.N) 787-9 Dreamliner plane at Delhi airport.
Vistara is a joint venture between India’s Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.
“Which company would not be interested in evaluating a sovereign airline of the country?” Bhat said, according to local reports.
He, however, said no final decision had been made on whether it would submit a bid.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s government in January said it planned to sell its entire interest in Air India, making a renewed push to sell the flag carrier after it drew no bids in an auction of a majority stake almost two years ago.
The government has set March 17 as the deadline for submission of initial expressions of interest, and said that any bidder must assume liabilities, including debt of 232.87 billion rupees ($3.20 billion).
