India’s finance ministry on Friday said the names of potential bidders of national carrier Air India Limited will be kept strictly confidential by the transaction adviser and such information could only be shared with specific agencies in national interest on the advice of the government.
The divestment arm of the ministry, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), said “Each of the potential bidders will be assigned a code by the transaction adviser. All activities including due diligence, site visits, bidding, etc, shall be performed using the code only.” The code assigned by the transaction adviser will be the identity of the bidder, it added.
“A non-disclosure undertaking should be signed by the potential bidder, inter alia, undertaking that the entity and its employees shall not reveal the identity and /or contact any member of the CPSE (Central Public Sector Enterprise) or the administrative ministry/DIPAM, and also keep the data/information of CPSE (shared as part of transaction) strictly confidential,” it said.
The government targets to complete the privatization of the deb-ridden Air India during the financial year 2021-22.
According to reports, Tata Group and an employee consortium headed by a board member of the national carrier are among interested parties that have submitted expressions of interest (EoI) for Air India.
The employee group comprises 219 employees of the airline and is headed by the director (commercial) and board member Meenakshi Mallik. It hopes to tie up with a private equity fund for the deal.
On Thursday, civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said the divestment of Air India Limited is on track and transaction adviser EY has received EoIs from prospective bidders.
“The transaction adviser will now seek financial bids from the qualified bidders,” Kharola added.
The government plans to sell its entire 100% stake in Air India, which has not made profits since its merger with Indian Airlines in 2007.
The winning bidder will also get 100% stake in the national carrier’s low-cost arm Air India Express and 50% stake in Air India SATS (AISATS), which provides ground handling and cargo services at major domestic airports.
The government has earmarked a divestment target of ₹1.75 trillion for FY 2021, compared to ₹1.05 lakh trillion for FY20 and ₹80,000 crore for FY19.
