Friday, June 17 2005 20:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Air-India has received as many as 15 bids from the investment bankers, including ICICI Securities and DSP-Merrill Lynch, for appointing an advisor for its Initial Public Offering (IPO), which is expected to hit market by December 2005.

Among the high-profile investment banking outfits who are in the race include HSBC Securities, JM Morgan Stanley and Kotak Mahindra Capital, A-I sources said in Mumbai today (Jun 17, 2005), the last day for filing the bids.

The State-owned carrier has set up a four member high-power panel to go through bids and give its recommendations on the appointment of an advisor, they said.

The selection process was expected to be completed within 3-4 weeks after bidders complete their presentations, they said adding the entire IPO process was expected to be complete by the end of December 2005.

After exhausting options of disinvestments and equity infusion by the Union Government, Air India had set the ball rolling for its IPO.

A-I has a share capital of Rs 153.84 crore, which is fully subscribed by the Central Government, while its authorised capital is Rs 500 crore. It has a turn over exceeding $1.5 billion (About Rs 6,500 crore) and an asset base of over Rs 7,000 crore.

The airline had recently announced a massive fleet acquisition programme for purchase of 50 Boeing jets at an approximate cost of Rs 30,000 crore beginning this fiscal till 2012-13.