MUMBAI, Dec 4 (Reuters) - India's state-run carrier, Air
India [AI.UL], plans to divest up to 15 percent of its equity in
an initial public offer, the civil aviation minister said on
Tuesday.
"We would like to see a 10-15 percent disinvestment from
current ownership," Praful Patel told reporters on the sidelines
of the India Economic Summit, but declined to set a timeline for
the IPO.
"Air India certainly needs more capital infusion for current
asset acquisition requirements and for future growth," he said.
In August, the corporate affairs ministry had approved the
merger of Air India and state-run Indian Airlines [IA.UL].
The merged airline, which flies under the Air India brand,
has a fleet of 112 aircraft and has on order another 111 Boeing
<BA.N> and Airbus <EAD.PA> aircraft. The combined entity would
annuallly save 8 billion rupees.
(Reporting by C.Jacob Kuncheria, editing by Harish Nambiar)
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Keywords: AIRINDIA IPO/