Tata Sons has been selected as the winning bidder for the debt-laden national-carrier Air India, government announced in New Delhi during a press conference. Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) informed the decision and said that a panel of union ministers accepted a proposal from officials recommending the offer made by Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of TATA Sons.

The government will now issue a Letter of Intent (LoI) to be issued and SPA will be signed with the successful bidder. The DIPAM Secretary also said that the TATA Sons is free to undertake mergers and acquisitions which means TATAs are free to merge their existing airline, Air Asia India with Air India and even Vistara, where they also hold majority shares.