Air India to get owner by June, says Aviation Minister

New Delhi: The government expect to complete the privatisation of Air India by year-end and the winning bidder is likely to be known by the end of June, Union Minister Jayant Sinha said on Friday.

The debt-ridden carrier would be put up on sale as four different entities while private companies can have at least 51 % stake at the airline. The Minister of State for Civil aviation also said the information memorandum for the proposed strategic disinvestment of Air India would be issued in the next few weeks.

The memorandum will detail about various aspects including, what would be available for bidding, assets and how much stake the government would own etc. Mr Sinha also said that the government hopes to find the winning bidder and closure of the transaction by the end of June.