Vistara-Air India merger: Govt. nod for Singapore Airlines to pick up shares

NEW DELHI: Singapore Airlines announced on Friday that it has received approval from the Indian government for foreign direct investment (FDI) as part of the planned merger of Vistara with Air India.

This merger is set to create one of the world’s largest airline groups.

With this clearance, the merger, which will see Singapore Airlines acquiring a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, is expected to be finalised by the end of this year. The proposed merger was initially announced in November 2022.

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

In a regulatory filing on Friday, Singapore Airlines (SIA) confirmed that it had received FDI approval from the Government of India for the expanded Air India as part of the merger.

Significant step

“The FDI approval, along with anti-trust and merger control clearances, as well as other governmental and regulatory approvals received so far, marks a significant step towards completing the proposed merger,” the airline stated in its filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange.

The airline further noted that the completion of the merger is still contingent on compliance with applicable Indian laws, with the process expected to conclude in the coming months. “At this stage, the merger is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2024,” the filing added.

Singapore Airlines also mentioned that the parties involved are in discussions to extend the long stop date for the merger’s completion, which was originally set for October 31, 2024.

The merger, which will result in one of the largest airline groups globally, received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June. Singapore’s competition regulator, CCCS, granted a conditional nod for the merger in March 2024. Earlier, in September 2023, the merger had also secured approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), subject to certain conditions.

“SIA will issue further announcements upon the completion of the proposed merger or if there are any significant developments,” the filing stated on Friday.