Lufthansa looks increasingly likely to take a 42 per cent stake in Austrian Airlines, with shares in the airline suspended today (August 23) pending an "important statement".
Earlier, press reports said that the German carrier Lufthansa had been the only bidder for the 42 per cent holding which the Austrian government wants to sell. Shares in Austrian dropped by 30 per cent to €2.85 on Wednesday before they were suspended today.
Air France KLM and the Russian carrier S7 Airlines had been among the potential bidders for the 42 per cent which is officially held by ÖIAG, a government holding company.
But neither appears to have followed through with a formal bid although Air France KLM said it was interested in further talks.
The “winner” of the bidding process is due to be announced on Monday. Both Austrian Airlines and ÖIAG declined to comment.
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Report by Stanley Slaughter
