Air India-Vistara merger cleared for take-off by CCI
Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday approved the proposed merger of Tata Group-controlled airline companies – Air India and Vistara – subject to certain conditions. The development is a major step forward for Tata Group in consolidating its aviation business.
In a post on platform X, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday said it has approved the merger.
C-2023/04/1022 CCI approves the merger of Tata SIA Airlines into Air India, and acquisition of certain shareholding by Singapore Airlines in Air India subject to compliance of voluntary commitments offered by the parties.#CCIMerger #Mergers pic.twitter.com/QihGf4xxus
— CCI (@CCI_India) September 1, 2023
“CCI approves the merger of Tata SIA Airlines into Air India, and acquisition of certain shareholding by Singapore Airlines in Air India subject to compliance of voluntary commitments offered by the parties,” said CCI. Vistara and Air India are full-service carriers that are part of the Tata Group, and Singapore Airlines holds a 49 percent stake in Vistara.
In November last year, Tata Group announced the merger of Vistara with Air India under a deal wherein Singapore Airlines will also acquire a 25.1 percent stake in Air India. The deal would mark a major consolidation in India’s fast-growing aviation space. The approval for the proposed combination was sought from CCI in April this year. The parties to the combination are Tata Sons Pvt Ltd (TSPL), Air India Ltd, Tata SIA Airlines Ltd (TSAL), and Singapore Airlines Ltd. The deal will make Air India the country’s largest international carrier and second-largest domestic carrier.
Ratan Tata headed Tata Group’s entry into the civil aviation sector in 2013 in a controversial move by floating Air Asia in India. Malaysian firm AirAsia entered Indian skies with the support of Tata Group and invited many controversies. BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had approached Courts citing a series of illegalities accusing Ratan Tata of several corrupt practices in collusion with then people in Congress controlled UPA government. There were several cases against the AirAsia deal[1]
Tata Group again floated another civil aviation company Vistara in alliance with Singapore Airlines, while they were running AirAsia in alliance with a controversial Malaysian firm. However, the Narendra Modi government was so favourable to Ratan Tata, and many cases of violating civil aviation norms were diluted. Then Modi government allowed disinvestment in public sector firm Air India, allowing Tata Group to take control of Air India.
Reference:
[1] Delhi HC orders ED to produce probe report on Money Laundering in Tata-Air Asia deal. Cyrus Mistry’s Forensic Audit Report shows money flown to Dubai based terrorist – Jan 24, 2020, PGurus.com
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