Thursday, January 19 2006 16:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: Liquor baron Vijay Mallya today (Jan 19, 2006) said the acquisition of Air Sahara by Jet Airways was expected and it would not affect his Kingfisher airlines as it was doing 'well'.

"It will not (not) affect Kingfisher. The combined entity might have a market share of more than 50 per cent. I am not concerned about it. I wish all the very best to Goyal and Jet Airways," Mallya told reporters here today.

Mallya was in the race for acquiring Air Sahara, but earlier this month, he withdrew from the race saying that his Kingfisher Airlines was doing well and it was not necessary to acquire one more airline.

Earlier, Mallya had submitted a bid to acquire the ailing Lucknow-based airline for a consideration of USD 400 million. But it was much lower than the valuation submitted by Ernst and Young.

Ernst and Young had valued Air Sahara between USD 750 million and USD one billion.

"I am more concerned about the airports and the infrastructure. With this acquisition, Jet airways may get more parking slots and more aircraft. The government should look into sorting out infrastructure issues," he said.