New Delhi, Oct 7 (FN Agency) The Board of sale-bound Air India has decided to divest its stake in Air Mauritius ahead of government announcing the winning bidder for the national carrier. Sources told UNI that the divestment of stake in crisis-ridden Air Mauritius would not fetch any considerable amount but was necessitated given that the bid to privatise Air India is in final lap.
As per the latest Annual Report available on Air Mauritius website, Air India held 26,17,098 shares of Rs 10 each in the airline as on March 31, 2019. This amounts to 2.56 per cent voting rights. Air India figures among the substantial shareholders of Air Mauritius holding more than 5 per cent of the ordinary share capital. The Annual Report showed Air India effectively held 7.06 per cent ordinary share capital in Air Mauritius with 2.56 per cent of them being held directly. “The Board cleared the proposal to sell the stake in Air Mauritius in its meeting last month,” said a person aware of the development. The government is set to announce the successful bidder for Air India soon with Tata group being the front-runner. “Just wait for 2-3 days. The winning bidder for Air India would be announced,” a senior Minister told UNI on Wednesday.
Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group is being widely seen as the front-runner in the two-player game for acquiring Air India. The other party contender is Ajay Singh, promoter of struggling low-cost carrier SpiceJet. As per Books of Account of Air India for the period 2020-21 (provisional), the net block of fixed assets after reducing the accumulated depreciation is Rs 40,078.11 crore. This includes Rs 17,871.93 crore on account of right of use assets (leased aircraft fleet/land).