Pursuits

Fernandes Lures Tata Into Air With Low Fares: Corporate India

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Tata group, which started India’s first airline in 1932, is set to return to the industry as new Chairman Cyrus Mistry plans a budget carrier with Tony Fernandes’s AirAsia Bhd.

Southeast Asia’s biggest low-cost airline will own 49 percent of the venture. Tata Sons Ltd., the holding company of India’s biggest business group, will control 30 percent, while the balance will be owned by Arun Bhatia, whose son is married to the daughter of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal. Fernandes and Mittal own Queens Park Rangers Football Club.