New Delhi: Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Thursday said that the government has extended bid deadline for Air India till December 14 and the bidding parameters for divestment have also been revised.
"AISAM has decided to change the bidding parameters and ask for bids at enterprise value. The bid will be invited on equity and debt. In the current PIM, the debt left in the company would be Rs 23,286 crores," Hardeep Singh Puri said while addressing a press conference.
The enterprise value of a company includes the equity value, debt as well as cash with the company.
Puri said that the decision was taken by the Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism (AISAM) on Wednesday following a meeting with the union home ministry.
"The bid will be on the enterprise value. In this enterprise value also, are ratio has been earmarked between how much the bidder can take as debt and how much he has to give as cash," Civil Aviation Secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said.
"It has been decided that whatever enterprise value the bidders quote, 15 per cent of that has to be given in cash to the government and remaining 85 per cent has to be taken as debt along with Air India," added Kharola.
The Centre in August had issued a notification to extend the deadline for submitting the expression of interest (EOI) for 100 per cent stake sale of Air India by two months to October 30.
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The government had in January invited preliminary bids to divest its entire stake in Air India and the airline's subsidiary Air India Express along with its joint venture Air India SATS Airports Services Private Limited.
Of the airline's total debt of Rs 60,074 crore as of March 31, 2019, the buyer would be required to absorb Rs 23,286 crore, while the rest would be transferred to Air India Assets Holding Lyd (AIAHL).
Issuing a corrigendum to the expression of interest for sale of Air India, the department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) that falls under the Finance Ministry said that the changes are as per the requests received from the IBs (interested bidders) in view of the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19.
Speaking on the passenger air traffic in the country, Puri said it is my expectation that by the time we reach Diwali, and between Diwali and the end of the year, we should be looking at the figures (of operations under domestic civil aviation) which resemble pre-Covid levels.
India started operating domestic flights after a gap of two months in the last week of May. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, as of October 27, 1,48,344 passengers took to the skies in 3058 flights across the country.
Currently, the government has allowed domestic airlines to operate at 60 per cent capacity. Domestic flights in the country resumed operations from May 25 in a gradual manner.
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