Air India staff’s takeover bid disqualified, narrowing the field

A group of Air India employees has been ruled out of a bidding process to take control of the loss-making national carrier, as the government moves ahead with its years-long attempt to offload the airline. “I write to you with a heavy heart on the outcome of our bid to acquire Air India,” the airline’s commercial director Meenakshi Malik wrote in a letter to employees dated March 8. “We have been unsuccessful in qualifying to the next phase of the ‘Disinvestment Acquisition process.’” Citing a letter from Ernst & Young, which is advising the government on the sale, Malik said the group didn’t meet eligibility requirements. They include submitting three years of audited financial statements for foreign consortium members and being an appropriately regulated foreign investment fund. The group of employees partnered with a Seychelles-based fund for the bid. Tata Sons Ltd. is among the remaining bidders. SpiceJet Ltd. promoter Ajay Singh and two other investors have also shown an interest in acquiring Air India, the Economic Times reported last month. <br/>