Angel investors snap up Air Carnival for Rs 70 crore

Regional carrier Air Carnival, which commenced operations only last July, has been acquired by angel investors for about Rs 70 crore.

Air Carnival Chairman and Managing Director S Irudaya Nathan signed the deal with the new owner, whose identity has not been disclosed, yesterday, a source in the know of developments told PTI.

The deal is valued at around Rs 70 crore, the source said.

The new investor is expected to take control of the airline by July, the source said.

Promoted by Coimbatore Marine College (CMC) group, Air Carnival commenced operations in July last year with one ATR- 72 aircraft.

Nathan had last week told PTI that discussions for offloading 100 per cent stake in Air Carnival to a prospective buyer were in advanced stages.

Calls made to Nathan remained unanswered.

Air Carnival operates 10 daily flights to three cities -- Chennai, Trichy and Tuticorn -- from Coimbatore.

"We are diluting entire stake in the carrier. The discussions (with the prospective buyer) are about to be finalised within this week," Nathan had said last week.