Singapore Airlines said today that it had received approval from the Government of India for its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) as part of the proposed merger of Vistara airline with Air India. The deal is expected to create one of the world’s largest airline groups.
With the FDI clearance in place, the merger that will see Singapore Airlines acquiring a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India is expected to be completed by the end of 2024. The proposed merger was announced in November 2022.
Air India is owned by the Tata Group, and Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between the Tatas and Singapore Airlines.
In a regulatory filing today, Singapore Airlines (SIA) reported getting the FDI approval to the Singapore Stock Exchange. The airline’s filing said: “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 also said that the completion of the merger continued to be subject to compliance by the parties with applicable Indian laws.
“At this juncture, completion of the proposed merger is anticipated to occur by the end of 2024,” said Singapore Airlines.
According to SIA, the parties are in discussions to extend the long stop date for the completion of the merger. Earlier, it was expected to be October 31, 2024.
The merger, which will create one of the biggest global airline groups, was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June 2024.
In March 2024, Singapore’s competition regulator CCCS gave a conditional nod 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 today.
