Air India, Vistara Merger Remains On Course, Subject To Regulatory Approvals: Singapore Airlines

SIA said that once the merger is finalised, the group will secure a 25.1 per cent share in the enlarged Air India Group with a major presence in all prominent Indian airline market segments. 

Air India and Vistara’s proposed merger is on path and is subject to regulatory approvals and nods from competition authorities in several jurisdictions, Singapore Airlines (SIA) said on Tuesday. The SIA Group released a statement and assured that the merger remained on course. 

In it’s release, SIA said, “The proposed merger of Air India and Vistara remains on course, with the Competition Commission of India approving the transaction in September 2023. It remains subject to foreign direct investment approval, as well as approvals from other regulators and competition authorities in several jurisdictions including those from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and National Company Law Tribunal, and the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore,” reported PTI. 

Notably, after the merger is finalised, SIA will hold a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India. Presently, the group owns a 49 per cent stake in Vistara and the rest 51 per cent share is with the Tata Group. 

The SIA Group announced the firm’s financial performance for the first half of the current fiscal year and said that when the merger is finalised, the group will secure a 25.1 per cent share in the enlarged Air India Group with a major presence in all prominent Indian airline market segments. 

Air India was, notably, acquired by the Tata Group earlier in January 2022. Since then, the airline has ventured into a revival and expansion plan. 

The SIA Group, in it’s earnings, reported an increase of 55.4 per cent in its net profit to S$1,441 million in the first half of 2023-24, from $927 million a year earlier. Here, S$ represents the Singapore Dollar. The total revenue of the group gained 8.9 per cent in the reporting period on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. As of September 30, the group said it owned a fleet of 202 aircraft including 195 passenger aircraft and 7 freighters. The company has placed 96 aircraft on order, it said.