A section of Air India Limited's employees along with Interups, Inc. (OTCPK:ITUP) will be placing an expression of interest (EoI) for the divestment-bound national carrier, ahead of the deadline for the bid on December 14, 2020. The bid, jointly made by Interups Inc. and Air India's employee group, proposes 51% stake to Air India employee association, which includes about 219 employees, including board members, as part of the consortium, and 49% stake to Interups Inc, Laxmi Prasad, Chairman of Interups Inc., told Mint. "Willing and continuing employees will be offered 51% in the consortium that acquires the airline.

No capital investment is required (from them)," Prasad said, adding that if the planned acquisition of Air India was successful, Interups Inc. along with Air India Ltd. would sponsor an aviation infrastructure investment trust to monetize certain assets. "We are actively advocating airline routes, ground handling, training and other facilities into infrastructure placement. This leaves the current company to remain lean and operational," he added.

When contacted, an Air India spokesperson wasn't immediately available for comments. A senior Air India official confirmed that about 219 employees of Air India, representing a cross section of employees, including board members, are part of the consortium which, along with Interups Inc., have bid for the national carrier. Meanwhile, Tata Sons Private Limited is likely to submit an expression of interest (EoI) for national carrier Air India Ltd. before the deadline on December 14, 2020.

According to news reports, the Tata Group is seeking to pursuade its partner, Singapore Airlines Limited (SGX:C6L), with whom it operates a joint venture—Vistara—to waive off a non-compete clause in the agreement to bid for Air India and also to partner the conglomerate in its bid for the country's national carrier. The qualified institutional bidders, if any, will be invited to start bidding for the airline from 28 December, 2020 according to the latest government corrigendum. The government, this time around, plans to divest 100% of its equity share capital in Air India Ltd, which includes Air India's shareholding interest of 100% in Air India Express Ltd. and 50% in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), the arm of the finance ministry overseeing the Air India divestment, on December 14, 2020 said that multiple EoIs for the divestment process were received before the deadline. "Multiple expressions of interest have been received for strategic disinvestment of Air India. The Transaction will now move to the second stage," DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a tweet on December 14, 2020.

While, the last day for submitting EoIs for Air India divestment is on 14 December, 2020 the DIPAM will now evaluate the bids and make known the ones that qualify, a fortnight later, according to the department's proposal to privatize the national carrier.