Indian Commercial Court approves merger of Air India and Vistara

BENGALURU (Reuters) – An Indian company court on Thursday approved the merger of full-service airline Vistara with larger rival Air India, according to a decision on June 6, bringing the two Tata Group airlines a step closer to completing the deal.

Under the merger, which was first announced in November 2022, Vistara, which is 49% owned by Singapore Airlines, will be integrated into Air India, giving Singapore Airlines a 25.1% stake in the merged entity.

“The composite scheme of arrangement between the petitioner companies and their respective shareholders is hereby approved,” the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) said in its order.

The NCLT order said Air India must complete the merger within nine months.

Both the antitrust authorities of India and Singapore have approved the deal. The merger is expected to be completed by the end of the year, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said earlier this week.

The Air India group, which also owns the low-cost carriers Air India Express and Air Asia India, has ordered a whopping 470 jets from Airbus and Boeing to compete with local rivals such as IndiGo and Middle Eastern airlines that dominate outbound traffic from India.

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam and Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)