Vistara-Air India Merger: Singapore Airlines gets FDI approval, now merger agreement will be completed soon

Singapore Airlines has received foreign direct investment approval for the merger agreement between Vistara and Air India. After getting approval from the government, Singapore Airlines will acquire 25.1 percent stake under the merger agreement. According to media reports, now this agreement is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The proposed merger was announced in November 2022. The airlines formed after this merger will be one of the largest airline groups in the world.

The deal is expected to be completed by the end of this year

Air India is owned by the Tata Group and Vistara is owned by both Tata and Singapore Airlines with a 51:49 percent stake. On Friday, Singapore Airlines said in a regulatory filing with the Singapore Stock Exchange that it has received approval from the Indian government for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the expanded Air India as part of the proposed merger. Singapore Airlines said the proposed merger is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

Earlier the Vistara-Air India merger agreement was expected to be completed by October 31, 2024. The deal was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June. In March, Singapore’s competition regulator CCCS gave conditional approval for the proposed deal. Earlier in September 2023, this deal had received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) with certain conditions.