Singapore Airlines gets green light for Vistara-Air India merger

Singapore: Singapore Airlines announced on Friday that it has received approval from the Indian government for foreign direct investment (FDI) as part of its plan to merge Vistara with Air India. This merger will create one of the world’s largest airline groups.

With the approval now in place, Singapore Airlines is set to acquire a 25.1 percent stake in Air India, and the merger is expected to be finalised by the end of this year. The merger was first announced in November 2022.

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Air India is owned by the Tata Group, while Vistara is a joint venture between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines, with a 51:49 ownership split.

In a regulatory filing on Friday, Singapore Airlines confirmed that the Indian government’s FDI approval has been secured. “The FDI approval, together with anti-trust and merger control clearances and approvals, as well as other governmental and regulatory approvals received to-date, represent a significant development towards the completion of the proposed merger,” the airline said in the filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange.

However, the merger’s completion is still subject to meeting Indian legal requirements and is expected to be wrapped up in the coming months. “At this juncture, completion of the proposed merger is anticipated to occur by the end of 2024,” it added.

Singapore Airlines also mentioned that discussions are underway to extend the original deadline for the merger, which was set for October 31, 2024.

The merger, which will form one of the largest airline groups globally, received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June. In March, Singapore’s competition regulator, CCCS, gave a conditional approval for the deal, and the Competition Commission of India (CCI) also approved it with conditions in September 2023.

“SIA will make the necessary announcement(s) upon completion of the proposed merger or in the event that there are other significant developments,” the filing said on Friday.

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