INDIA
BUSINESS WORLD -
MAY 2006
THE MONTH THAT WAS...
JET-SAHARA OPS NOT A MONOPOLY
PAVING the way for the merger of Air Sahara with Jet Airways, the investigating arm of the Monopolies & Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) has cleared the Rs 2,300-crore deal from the monopoly perspective. The buyout does not violate the existing law on monopolies, the director-general of investigation & registration (DGIR) has informed the commission.
As of now, Jet is running Air Sahara as a fully-owned subsidiary since government clearances are pending. Since the DGIR's report is likely to expedite MRTPC clearance for the deal, Jet has to wait for clearance from other wings of the government, such as the director-general of civil aviation.
The DGIR has found that a merger between the two carriers does not attract any provision in the Monopolies & Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969. Monopolies, per se, have been removed from the commission's purview by an amendment to the law in 1991.
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