Indian government approves Jet Airways – Air Sahara merger

The Indian government has finally given its approval to the merger of Jet Airways with Air Sahara. The Government’s aircraft acquisition panel has cleared all the legal obstacles in the way of such a deal between the two companies.

However, this approval comes with a catch, which means that Jet Airways cannot sell or lease Sahara assets to anyone else. The two companies had already extended the term of their share-purchase agreement by 90 days after doubts were raised on their ability to make the deal possible.

The value of the deal continues to remain at around Rs 2,300 crore. This deal would also require the approval from the courts. Jet Airways plans to run Air Sahara as their 100 per cent subsidiary. This step is essential for the company to have access to all of Air Sahara’s parking slots, flight rights and other infrastructural facilities.

This subsidiary is expected to become functional soon and should start working before the 90-day extension period.