State Bank of India is likely to support Tata Sons’s bid to acquire state-owned carrier Air India.The bank may subscribe to Tata Sons debentures or fund the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by Tata Sons for the acquisition, according to a report.
Tata Sons’s Air India buy may cost Rs 15,000 crore. The bank will subscribe to the debentures as Indian banks do not provide loans to corporates for acquisitions.
The lender is banking on the Tata Sons AAA rating, which signifies high safety and the prospects of Air India under the Tatas.
Tata Sons has a shareholder approval to raise Rs 40,000 crore while it Rs 10 lakh crore stake in TCS gives it financial heft to go for such a big acquisition.
Air India finances
- Air India’s accumulated losses ballooned to Rs 70,820 crore in FY20.
- The earnings for FY21 haven’t been reported yet but the annual loss is expected to touch Rs 10,000 crore, from Rs 8,000 in the previous year.
- Its revenue in FY21 more than halved year-on-year to Rs 12,139 crore.
- Air India’s total debt (according to provisional figures for FY20) stood at Rs 38,366.39 crore after transfer of debt amounting to Rs 22,064 crore to the special purpose vehicle, Air India Assets Holding Ltd, in FY20.
Tata group airlines
If it acquires Air India, the airline will compete directly with Vistara, another airline from the Tata stable.
Bringing Vistara under the holding company with Air India could help with operational synergy and economies of scale.
Vistara’s loss for the year narrowed to Rs 1,612 crore, from Rs 1,814 crore a year earlier, having widened from Rs 831 crore in FY19.
Its total liabilities at the end of FY21 were Rs 11,491 crore, while its net worth was a negative Rs 6,088 crore.
According to its latest annual report, Tata Group’s budget carrier AirAsia India’s net loss almost doubled in FY21 to Rs 1,532 crore and its net worth slipped into negative territory as the pandemic hit aviation globally.
Information Source – Matrubhumi
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