In a joint application to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), Tata Sons, Air India, Vistara, and Singapore Airlines (SIA) claim that the merger of Vistara and Air India "will not lead to any change in the competitive landscape or cause any appreciable adverse effect on competition in India." Last November, Tatas and SIA had announced their plan to have one full-service carrier by March 2024 and the process of seeking regulatory nods has begun.
Tatas owns 51% of Vistara, and SIA owns 49%. In the proposed combination of Vistara and Air India, SIA will own 25.1% of the merged entity, with Tatas owning the remaining 75%. As soon as this integration is finished, SIA will invest $250 million, valuing the upcoming Air India at roughly $1 billion. The Southeast Asian airline says it intends to fully fund this investment with its internal cash resources, which stood at $17. 5 billion as of September 30, 2022.
“…to aid CCI’s assessment of the proposed transaction, the following relevant markets have been identified: Horizontal overlaps (that includes) domestic and international passenger air transport, air cargo transport services in India, and chartered flight services in India. Vertical relationships (include) ground handling services at the Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram airports… in-flight catering services in India,” the application says.