India's competition authority has given the green light for Premji Invest, Manipal Group head Ranjan Pai's family office, and 360 ONE Asset to acquire stakes in Akasa Air (QP, Mumbai International) parent company SNV Aviation.
The Competition Commission of India announced on April 15, 2025, that it had approved the acquisition of certain shareholdings in SNV Aviation Private Limited by PI Opportunities Fund, Claypond Capital Partners Private Limited, and 360 ONE Private Equity Fund.
According to the Business Standard newspaper, PIOF is an alternative investment fund owned and controlled by Premji Invest and registered with the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI), while Claypond is an arm of the Pai family group. The 360 fund, in turn, is also an alternative investment fund, managed by 360 ONE Asset.
The commission's green light follows Akasa Air's announcement earlier this year that it had secured a likely cash infusion from a consortium of potential investors that included Azim Premji's global investment arm and Ranjan Pai's investment office.
Akasa Air announced in August 2024 that it was planning to raise up to INR84 billion rupees (USD983 million) through equity and debt over the next three years in order to increase the size of its fleet and expand its network.
That same month, the airline said a two-party consortium, comprising Premji Invest and Manipal Group-owned venture capital firm Claypond Capital, were in talks to pump around USD125 million into the airline.
The airline commenced scheduled flight operations in August 2022. According to the ch-aviation schedules module, it now serves 27 destination in five countries, using a fleet of twenty-three B737-8s and four B737-8-200s.
It has another 100 -200s on firm order along with ninety-nine B737-10s. Its ambitious growth plans have been stifled, however, by ongoing production delays at Boeing which, in turn, have seen many of the carrier's pilots placed on leave due to a shortage of aircraft.
