Date:23/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/23/stories/2005072302740900.htm

Back Air-India shortlists six merchant bankers for IPO

Our Bureau

Mumbai , July 22

AIR-INDIA has shortlisted six merchant bankers out of the 15 who applied to advice the national carrier on its IPO, which is expected to open later this year.

DSP Merrill Lynch, JM Morgan Stanley, Kotak Investment Banking, SBI Capital Markets, HSBC, Enam Financial Consultants and Citibank are the shortlisted merchant bankers. All of them made presentations to Air-India's management committee on Thursday.

According to an official statement, the airline would appoint an advisor shortly.

The airline equity's base of Rs 153.84 crore, wholly contributed by the Government, has to be strengthened to finance its fleet acquisition plans pegged at Rs 30,000 crore; this figure does not include Rs 5,000 crore required for AI express's fleet acquisition, the statement said.

For 2004-05, the airline's provisional revised estimates show earnings before interest, tax, depreciation/amortisation, and lease rentals of Rs 910 crore on a turnover of Rs 7,500 crore, with a debt-equity ratio of 2.3:1.

The budget estimates approved by the Board in the first week of July have projected a turnover of Rs 8,000 crore for 2005-06. Its growth plan for the current year has chalked out a 20 per cent addition in capacity, a 17.5 per cent growth in the available seat km and passenger load factors estimated at 72 per cent.