Germany raised 760 million euros (US$760 million) from the sale of the state’s full stake in Deutsche Lufthansa AG, unwinding all of the holding it took to keep the flagship carrier afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The German Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) disposed of its remaining 9.92 percent of Europe’s largest airline via a placement with international investors, the German government said in a statement.
The government earlier on Tuesday announced the sale of a 6.2 percent holding.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The total proceeds of 1.07 billion euros generated for the WSF from the sale of its stake significantly exceed the 306 million euros invested to acquire it,” said German Finance Agency Director Jutta Doenges, who is responsible for the fund.
With this outcome, “the participation of the WSF ends and the company is back in private hands,” she said.
The shares traded 2 percent lower early yesterday in Frankfurt, Germany, and were little changed for the year to date.
Lufthansa in November last year repaid the last of its 9 billion euros bailout ahead of schedule, enabling the government to pare its stake at a significant profit.
The state in 2020 stepped in to rescue the airline after pandemic-related travel restrictions all but grounded air travel.
Germany’s richest man might have been one of the buyers, after saying he wants to acquire more shares in Europe’s biggest airline.
Billionaire investor Klaus-Michael Kuehne is looking to boost his 15.01 percent stake according to a filing last week, after investing a chunk of a fortune he made in logistics into the carrier.
The latest developments for the carrier come shortly after it reached an agreement that raises pay for pilots and excludes strikes for about a year in return.
The airline has been wrestling with labor disputes that exacerbated a chaotic summer travel season.
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