Bird Group keen to bid for Air India's ground services unit

Bird Group, an aviation and hospitality company, said it is interested in bidding for the ground handling division of Air India, the state-owned flag carrier the government is planning to sell in full or part. The New Delhi-based group has written to the Ministry of Civil Aviation asking the government to consider selling Air India’s subsidiaries separately, a spokesman said. Air India Air Transport Services Ltd. would make an attractive acquisition because it could be close to triple the size of Bird Group in the ground handling business, said the spokesman. It is premature to speculate on a valuation of the company known as AIATSL because its finances and liabilities are not known and due diligence has yet to be done, he said. Indian PM Narendra Modi approved a plan in June to privatize Air India, and a group of ministers is currently deciding on the sale process. The government is still deliberating on the stake to be sold and the fate of the 85-year old national carrier’s $8 billion debt. A decision on Air India will be taken after completing due process, but it needs to be done "expeditiously," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who heads the group of ministers, said Wednesday.<br/>