Air India stake sale: Govt extends EoI deadline to May 31

Giving more time, the government has extended the deadline to May 31 for submission of Expressions of Interest (EoIs) with respect to Air India disinvestment.

Besides, the qualified interested bidders would be intimated on June 15.

In March, the government said the last date for submission of EoIs would be May 14 and that the qualified interested bidders would be known on May 28.

Now, these deadlines have been extended, according to an official communication.

On March 28, the government unveiled plans to sell up to 76 per cent stake in loss-making Air India and transfer the management control to private players. Profit-making Air India Express and joint venture AISATS -- an equal joint venture between the national carrier and Singapore-based SATS Ltd -- would also be part of the disinvestment process.

In a corrigendum to the global invitation issued for EoIs for Air India stake sale on March 28, the Civil Aviation Ministry has also tweaked certain conditions.

As per the preliminary information memorandum, till the time the government has shareholding in the company, the confirmed selected bidder shall carry on the business of companies on a going-concern basis and on an arms length basis from its other business.

Now, this requirement would be subject to the condition that the "confirmed selected bidder shall be allowed to realise operational synergies subject to applicable law with further details being in RFP (Request for Proposal)", as per the corrigendum.

Further, the ministry has provided more clarity with respect to bidding by consortium and sole bidder.

In case of a sole bidder forming a consortium, then that entity would be the lead member and any change would be permitted only once after the EoI deadline.

The sole bidder would also be barred from shifting from one consortium to another.

The requirements are also applicable for consortiums participating in the bidding process.

Separately, the government came out with a set of clarifications about various aspects related to Air India disinvestment.