SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh joins Ankur Bhatia to bid for Air India

SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and Ankur Bhatia, promoter of Delhi-based Bird Group, to bid for a 100% stake in the national carrier Air India.

Sources said both Singh and Bhatia have bid in their personal capacity. “They are likely to together hold a majority stake in Air India, if they get the airline,” said a person close to the development, who did not want to be identified. ET was the first to report last month that Singh along with two other investors have shown interest in Air India.

The messages sent to Singh and Bhatia did not elicit any response till the time of going to press.


Earlier, it was reported that Ras Al Khaimah government is also part of the consortium.

The Ras Al Khaimah government said they are not interested in Air India.

“Neither the Ras Al Khaimah Government nor any of its related entities or authorities are in any way connected to any such potential transaction relating to Air India,” it said in an email.

Singh had co-founded SpiceJet in 2005. Subsequently, Wilbur Ross acquired control of the airline, which was then sold to Kalanithi Maran in 2010. Singh bought back the ailing airline for Rs 2 in 2015 and is credited with turning it around. Bhatia is an executive director at Bird Group which has interests in hospitality, ground handling and other businesses. The Singh-led consortium had submitted an Expression of Interest (EoI) for Air India in December last year and has been shortlisted as a potential bidder. The other contender is the Tata Group, which is the frontrunner.

Financial Bid Process Likely to Start by March-end
While the EoI was submitted by Tata Sons, the group is likely to bid through Air Asia India. Singapore International Airlines, the Tatas’ joint venture partner in Vistara, does not want to be a party to the bid.

Kolkata-based businessman Pawan Ruia, through another consortium, and an Air India employee consortium had also submitted EOIs for the national carrier. But they have not been shortlisted for the next stage.

The government has been trying to privatise Air India for a long time. The current process got delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The process for inviting financial bids is likely to start by March-end and the target is to complete the sale process by the end of this calendar year.

The government had failed to get any bid for Air India in 2018, when it was trying to sell a 76% stake in the airline. It then decided to offload 100% of Air India and its low-cost international subsidiary Air India Express, as well as 50% in ground-handling unit AISATS.

Air India is set to make a record loss of Rs 10,000 crore in the current financial year. The airline’s debt has come down to just over Rs 23,000 crore, after the government shifted its working capital debt of over Rs 30,000 crore to a state-owned special purpose vehicle called AI Asset Holdings Ltd. The government has also sweetened the offer this time, allowing suitors to base their bids on enterprise value, where the government will take 15% of the bid value and the rest will be used to retire debt, instead of the government getting 100% of it.