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SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) has received approval from India’s government for foreign direct investment (FDI) into the entity resulting from the merger of SIA’s 49 per cent-associated company, Tata SIA Airlines – operating as Vistara – and Air India.
On Friday (Aug 30), the flag carrier said the completion of the merger is now anticipated to occur by end-2024.
It announced its plan to merge Vistara and Air India in November 2022, with SIA to hold 25.1 per cent of the enlarged entity.
Air India – which includes low-cost carriers Air India Express and AirAsia India – is wholly owned by Tata Sons. Meanwhile, Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Sons and SIA, with each company holding a 51 per cent and 49 per cent stake, respectively.
While India’s antitrust body approved the deal in September 2023, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) identified certain competition concerns. CCCs later gave the green light for the deal in March this year, subject to certain conditions.
In its latest statement, SIA said the FDI approval, together with the other governmental and regulatory clearances and approvals received to date, represented a “significant development” towards the merger’s completion.
It added that both SIA and Vistara were in discussions to extend the long-stop date, which was previously indicated as Oct 31 this year, in view of the transaction’s latest expected completion date.
Shares of SIA ended Thursday S$0.02 or 0.3 per cent lower at S$6.21.
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