Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Hindujas term rejection of A-I bid as 'illegal'

Sanjay Suri
India Abroad Correspondent in London

The decision to bar the Hindujas from bidding for Air-India comes as a major blow to the brothers trying to rebuild their position after detention in India and controversies in Britain.

Shrichand and Gopichand Hinduja, who are back in Britain, had been looking to the Air-India deal to boost their business profile, according to sources close to the family.

Meanwhile, PTI reported that the Hindujas expressed their "extreme disappointment" at the decision of the Indian government to reject their bids for Air-India and Indian Airlines.

The brothers are also reported to have described the decision to eliminate them on the strength of a chargesheet as 'illegal'.

The Hindujas were disqualified on the strength of a newly introduced rule on divestment which says: "In regard to matters relating to security and integrity of the country any chargesheet by agency or the government or conviction in the court of law by bidder or sister concern of bidder would result in disqualification."

"We have been encouraged in our bid and throughout the process have had no security issues raised with us. Indeed, we were allowed to go through the due diligence process and given full access to data rooms of both Air-India and Indian Airlines," PTI quoted a spokesman of Hinduja Group as saying.

"We can only imagine that this decision has been made because we had insisted on full transparency in the bidding process," the Hindujas said, adding they would be examining the decision in detail and reviewing their legal position.

"As things stand, we believe this is a sad decision for the Indian people who are now forced to dispose of a prized asset with only one bidder. Surely, this will not realise the true value of this national asset," the group said.

"If it was going to be decided by bids they were prepared to put substantially more money on the table than others," said a leading businessman who has been associated closely with the brothers.

The decision to eliminate the Hindujas from the bid is a setback to the brothers who have been looking to take ownership of high profile business both in India and in Britain. So far they have not been successful in either country.

The Hindujas had tried earlier to take over the Express newspapers of Britain which were put up for sale. Strong opposition to that move ended their bid. That left the brothers as businessmen without a business in Britain.

Shrichand and Gopichand Hinduja have been active in the Indian social circles in London after their return. But there has been little encouragement for the brothers from the British establishment.

Air-India could have opened many doors for the Hindujas both in Britain and in India.

The Hindujas are now also out of the bidding for Indian Airlines.

The Hinduja brothers have declined to speak to the media since their return. But the line they have been taking is that they are being treated as guilty without having been proved guilty either in Britain or in India.

The brothers are in London after filing pledges they will return to India on the directions of a court to face legal proceedings when directed. In the meantime they have evidently decided to keep a low media profile.

Ministers and other senior officials are keeping their distance from the Hindujas until there is a court decision in India. All this is set to keep the Hindujas out of the public loop for some time, even though they insist their name will "shine brighter" after they are cleared.

Earlier industrialist Laxmi Mittal who lives in London had shown some interest in Air-India. But heavy losses in the steel business saw him opt out of the race.

The government on Friday night rejected the bids of Hindujas for Air-India and Indian Airlines, while disqualifying Videocon and Sterlite Industries from taking stakes in any of the public sector undertakings slated for privatisation.

Money

Business News

Tell us what you think of this report