SEPANG, 7 January 2021: AirAsia Group confirmed it has disposed of 32.67% of its equity shares in AirAsia (India) Limited (AAI) held by the Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary, AirAsia Investment Limited (AAIL).
Indian conglomerate Tata Sons Private Limited India (TSL) purchased the 32.67% stake to strengthen its role in the low-cost, joint venture airline AirAsia India. Before the purchase, Tata Sons held a 51% stake and AAIL 49%. The transaction means the TSL stake will rise to 83.67% and AAIL’s stake drops to 16.33%.
According to an announcement posted on the Bursa Malaysia website, the share sale to Tata Sons, India, took place on 31 December 2020 with the Air Asia Group receiving USD37,660,000 in gross proceeds.
AirAsia Group president, Bo Lingam said: “This transaction is in line with our initiatives towards reducing cash use for the Group and will allow us to use cash to grow market share in our core markets in ASEAN, particularly in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines as well as for our future expansion into Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.
“AirAsia Group has been reviewing its forward business strategy regularly, including its investment in AAI. This transaction will ensure strict cost containment for AirAsia Group in the short term and strengthen our presence in ASEAN while continuing our market dominance for travel from ASEAN to India and North Asia.
He said India would remain an important market for AirAsia. TSL has been an excellent partner, and we look forward to working closely together in other areas of growth.”
Headquartered in Bengaluru, AAI flies to 19 domestic destinations across India with 30 Airbus A320 aircraft.
Meanwhile, international services to India from Malaysia and Thailand will resume once travel restrictions are lifted and borders with India reopen. AirAsia operates over 100 weekly flights from Malaysia and Thailand to nine destinations in India.
