Tata group and SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh has been shortlisted for acquiring India’s state-owned airliner Air India.
The two contenders will now be invited to submit a binding financial bid after completing due diligence on Air India’s books. The due diligence will commence in a couple of weeks.
The Tata group, which already has a speck in the airlines business, has shown curiosity in acquiring Air India, which at one point in time was under the Tata umbrella.
In accordance with the earlier reports, SpiceJet promoter Ajay Singh and two other investors also worked out a plan to acquire Air India.
Singh is said to be keen on buying 100 per cent in Air India in a personal capacity. He is reportedly backed by a consortium of investors, including a foreign fund.
Singh co-founded SpiceJet in 2005 and then sold it to Kalanithi Maran in 2010. He returned in 2015 to turn around the ailing airline.