It is well known that Air India has a burden that exceeds, Rs 45,000 crores as of July 31, 2012 and it is now forced to monetize at least Rs 5000 crore from its assets, as per the financial restructuring plans. One pathway they had was to lease the iconic Air India Headquarters at Nariman Point, Mumbai. AI brass have announced the same but with a few conditions that are currently unacceptable to most of the takers.

The biggest bidder was Sahara India who wanted to rent the whole property, as opposed to the 16 lakh sq. ft that were put up for lease. Another issue was that the lease period was only 3-5 years but the Lucknow-based Sahara India wanted the place for a bigger period of 30 years; possibly with the idea of converting it into a hotel.

Air India has pride issues with the deal though. They don't want the building to lose its identity like the Sears Towers in Chicago which had been renamed after Willis Group Holdings bought it on lease and earned renaming rights. The AI building was set out for a lease of Rs 50 crore a year.

After denying the offer from Sahara, the top brass were contacted by other bidders who said that the lease period was too short for such a huge investment which has forced the AI administration to rethink the lease period.

(AW- Anil)