Air Deccan denies bid by Kingfisher

Bangalore: Air Deccan, India’s largest budget airline, denied yesterday that liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines had made an offer to buy the company in a bid to become the country’s top carrier.
“This is mere speculation, there’s no truth in it at all,” said a spokeswoman for Air Deccan in Bangalore, where both carriers are based.
Kingfisher Airlines spokesman Prakash Mirpuri said he would have to check with Mallya, who was abroad and could not be reached for immediate comment, before he reacted to reports of a possible takeover.
NDTV 24X7 television network on Friday said the two companies were in talks.
That came a day after the Times of India newspaper reported that a team from Kingfisher was scrutinising the books of Air Deccan, which reported a loss of 2.13bn rupees in the quarter ended March 31.
A deal would create an airline that would control 38% of India’s domestic aviation market, overtaking the 33% share of Jet Airways, which last month bought rival Air Sahara for 14.5bn rupees, the Times said.
05/05/07 Gulf Times, Qatar

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Categories: Air Deccan May 2007, Kingfisher May 2007