Air India is owned by Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata Sons Private Limited which took over Air India on January 27
Singapore’s competition commission has raised questions over the Tata Group’s acquisition of Air India since the group now owns two of the three key airlines — Air India, Vistara and Singapore Airlines — that operate flights on Singapore-Mumbai and Singapore-Delhi routes (Vistara’s 51 per cent stake is held by the Tata Group and the remaining 49 per cent is with Singapore Airlines), reported PTI. Air India is owned by Talace Private Limited, a subsidiary of the Tata Sons Private Limited which took over Air India on January 27.
In a statement on June 3, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) said it had raised competition concerns with Talace Private Limited on the transaction (Tata’s Air India takeover) based on information received from Talace and third parties.
“In particular, Air India and Vistara are two of the three key market players along the overlapping air passenger transport routes (Singapore-Mumbai and Singapore-Delhi), and both airlines are likely to be each other’s close (if not the closest) competitor,” the CCCS noted.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had on December 20, 2021 announced that it had approved Tata Group’s proposed acquisition of Air India
Singapore Airlines is also a significant competitor of Air India and Vistara along the overlapping air passenger transport routes (Singapore-Mumbai and Singapore-Delhi) and the overlapping air cargo transport routes (Singapore-India), it mentioned.
“However, the CCCS needs to assess further the extent to which Singapore Airlines competes with the merged entity along these routes, given that Singapore Airlines is a joint-venture partner with Tata Sons in Vistara and a prospective partner with Vistara in the Commercial Cooperation Framework Agreement,” it noted.
The CCCS also pointed out that it needs to assess further whether the competitive constraint from other airlines such as IndiGo would be sufficient post transaction. Accordingly, the CCCS needs to further review the competition effects of the transaction (Tata’s acquisition of Air India) in greater detail, it noted.
“At this stage, the parties may offer commitments to address the potential competition concerns of the Transaction raised by the CCCS. Otherwise, the merger will proceed to a detailed further review upon the CCCS’s receipt of the relevant documents from the parties,” it said.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) had on December 20, 2021 announced that it had approved Tata Group’s proposed acquisition of Air India.
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