UNCONFIRMED REPORTS indicate that Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) is making efforts to acquire SpiceJet.

The battle is not going to be easy for Ambani, as Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways are also in the race to buy a stake in Gurgaon based low-fare carrier SpiceJet, which completed three years of operations on May 23, this year.

SpiceJet is valued at around Rs 755 crores on the stock market. With 17 aircrafts, it ranks the lowest in terms of the cost of operations among airless in India and operates 117 flights daily to 17 cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bagdogra, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Guwahati, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Srinagar, Varanasi and Visakhapatnam.

Interestingly, Tata group owns six per cent and Dubai government investment agency Istithmar owns 13.4 per cent of SpiceJet.

Analyst and airline industry experts predict another round of consolidation in the airline industry in the context of high fuel costs and mounting losses.

Analysts are divided in their opinion. While a few dismiss Ambani’s decision to buy SpiceJet as foolish as aviation industry is reeling under heavy losses to the tune of one billion dollar in the last financial year, other analysts opine that Ambani has deep pockets to take up the challenge and the time is ripe for his foray into aviation industry as SpiceJet has resorted to stake sale.