Tata brings home Air India with Rs 18,000 crore bid: All you need to know about the Maharaja's journey back

Tata Sons, the controlling entity of salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group, has won the bid to acquire debt-ridden national carrier Air India.

With a bid of Rs 18,000 crore, Tata was able to oust its competitor in the acquisition race - a consortium headed by SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh.

This marks a homecoming moment for the Tata Group, which owned Air India till 68 years ago when it was nationalised by the government.

Also Read | First challenge for Tata after Air India win: Schedule integration across 4 airlines

Here is all you need to know about the landmark acquisition deal.

- Both the bidders - Tata Sons and consortium headed by Singh - had placed their respective bids way above the reserve price set at Rs 12,906 crore.

- Air India placed a bid of Rs 18,000 crore, whereas, the second bidder, consortium headed by Singh, placed a bid of Rs 15,100 crore.

- The total debt on the loss-incurring airline, as of August 31, stood at Rs 61,560 crore, the government said. The carrier is making around Rs 20 crore loss per day.

- Debt which will be taken over by Tata will be Rs 15,300 crore while Rs 46,262 crore will remain with Air India Asset Holdings Ltd, which is a special purpose vehicle created to retain the non-core assets, land and the debt of Air India which Tata will not be taking on.

- As part of the deal, Tata would be paying Rs 2,700 crore in cash to the government, whereas, the remainder amount of Rs 15,300 crore would be used for taking over a portion of the debt.

- Tata Group, after taking over the airline, will retain all employees for a period of one year, the government said. After one year, the company will have the option to offer voluntary retirement scheme to the employees.

- Notably, Tata has massively widened its foray in the aviation sector with the Air India acquisition deal. The company already held a majority stake in Vistara and AirAsia India, apart from entering into a joint venture with Singapore Airline Ltd.

- The Air India deal was considered as lucrative as, in terms of physical assets, it provides the winner with 4,400 domestic and 1,800 international landing and parking slots at domestic airports, as well as 900 slots at overseas airports.

- Centre had begun attempts to privatise the Maharaja - as the national carrier is prominently referred to - since 2001. The efforts picked up pace over the past couple of years, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing in this year's budget speech that the government intends to complete the Air India divestment by end of the current fiscal.

Commenting on the airline's acquisition, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said this is a "historic moment".

"It will be a rare privilege for our group to own and operate the country’s flag bearer airline," he said.

Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata, while paying homage to JRD Tata who had started Air India's predecessor in the form of Tata Airlines in 1932, said "it will take considerable effort to rebuild" the carrier.