Air India's Potential Suitor Drops Out Even Before Sale Begins

(Bloomberg) -- IndiGo, the only airline to have publicly shown interest in buying parts of Air India Ltd., said it's no longer keen on the state asset, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most high-profile privatization plan.

India's biggest airline, operated by InterGlobe Aviation Ltd., said it doesn't have the wherewithal to acquire Air India in its entirety and make it profitable. While the budget carrier had its eyes set on the international operations of Air India, the government decided against piecemeal sales to different buyers.

“We do not believe that we have the capability to take on the task of acquiring and successfully turning around all of Air India's airline operations,” IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh said in a statement sent by text message late Thursday. IndiGo shares fell as much as 2.4 percent in early Mumbai trading before reversing the losses.

IndiGo was counting on Air India's international operation, which has lucrative landing and parking slots at airports from Heathrow to New York, to expand and become a low-cost, long-haul airline in a relatively shorter time. However, India said last week it will sell a 76 percent stake in Air India as a whole, and the buyer would have to take on about two-thirds of its $7.8 billion debt.

‘Very Wise'

“IndiGo's decision is very wise and in the interest of their shareholders,” said Kapil Kaul, the South Asia chief of CAPA Centre for Aviation. “Acquiring Air India was a very risky proposition for IndiGo.”

IndiGo has said it will still pursue its ambitions, with or without Air India. Billionaire owners Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal had said earlier that they won't buy Air India if that involves a partnership with the government. The state airline has been unprofitable since its 2007 merger with domestic operator Indian Airlines Ltd.

The government proposes to sell 76 percent of the carrier and 100 percent of Air India Express, the overseas budget unit -- all to the same buyer. It also plans to sell half of the ground-handling subsidiary separately. Singapore Airlines Ltd. and India's Tata Group, which run a joint venture called Vistara, have said they are open to a deal for Air India but haven't elaborated.

Modi may find it challenging to sell a majority stake in the money-losing, 85-year-old company. At least one attempt almost two decades ago failed in the face of fierce political opposition. The company made an operating profit of about 3 billion rupees ($46 million) in the year through March 2017, primarily due to a favorable slump in oil prices. It still posted a net loss of 57.7 billion rupees, junior aviation minister Jayant Sinha told lawmakers on Feb. 8.

Air India, which is known for its Maharajah brand icon, traces its roots to Tata Airlines, founded in the 1930s by the then-patriarch of Tata Group, J.R.D. Tata.

--With assistance from Ari Altstedter

To contact the reporter on this story: Anurag Kotoky in New Delhi at akotoky@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Sam Nagarajan at samnagarajan@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen

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