Singapore Airlines Secures FDI Approval for Vistara-Air India Merger
Singapore Airlines announced that it has obtained approval from the Indian government for foreign direct investment (FDI) as part of the planned merger of Vistara with Air India. This deal, which will establish one of the largest airline groups globally, includes Singapore Airlines acquiring a 25.1% stake in Air India. The merger is anticipated to be finalized by the end of this year.
The proposed merger, announced in November 2022, involves Air India, which is owned by Tata Group, and Vistara, a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines. In a regulatory filing, Singapore Airlines (SIA) stated that it has received approval from the Indian government for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the expanded Air India as part of the planned merger.
"The FDI approval, together with anti-trust and merger control clearances and approvals, as well as other governmental and regulatory approvals received to-date, represent a significant development towards the completion of the proposed merger", the airline said in the filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange.
The airline also said the completion of the merger continues to be subject to compliance by the parties with applicable Indian laws, which is currently expected to be completed in the next few months. "At this juncture, completion of the proposed merger is anticipated to occur by the end of 2024", it added.
Singapore Airlines has stated that the parties are in talks to extend the long stop date for finalizing the merger, which was initially expected to be October 31, 2024. The merger, set to form one of the largest airline groups, received approval from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June. In March, Singapore's competition regulator, CCCS, also granted conditional approval for the proposed deal.
Prior to that in September 2023, the deal received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), subject to certain conditions. "SIA will make the necessary announcement(s) upon completion of the proposed merger or in the event that there are other significant developments", the filing said.
