Air India plans to acquire 100% stake in AirAsia India

Tatas-owned Air India has proposed to acquire a 100% stake in AirAsia India airline, according to the PTI news agency. At present, Tata Sons Private Ltd has an 83.67% stake in no-frills carrier AirAsia India and the remaining 16.33% stake is with AirAsia Investment Ltd (AAIL), which is part of Malaysia's AirAsia Group.

Air India has now sought approval from the Competition Commission for the proposed deal.

Last year, Tata Sons' wholly-owned subsidiary, Talace Private Limited acquired Air India and Air India Express.

In October 2021, Tatas emerged as the winning bidder for loss-making Air India. It offered a bid of ₹18,000 crore, comprising cash payment of ₹2,700 crore and taking over the carrier's debt worth ₹15,300 crore.

Besides, the Tatas also operate full-service carrier Vistara in a joint venture with Singapore Airlines.

Air India Limited, along with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Air India Express Limited (AIXL), is primarily engaged in the business of providing- domestic scheduled air passenger transport services; international scheduled air passenger transport services; air cargo transport services in India, and charter flight services in India.

"The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of the entire equity share capital of AirAsia (India) Private Limited (Air Asia India/ Target), by Air India Ltd (AIL), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Limited," a notice filed with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said.

Deals beyond a certain threshold require the approval of CCI, which works to foster competition as well as curb anti-competitive practices in the marketplace. AirAsia India, which started flying in June 2014, offers scheduled air passenger transport, air cargo transport, and charter flight services in the country. It does not have international operations.