JUSTIN WASTNAGE / LONDON
SAS is seeking support from its Star Alliance partner to help fund fleet development at the Spanish airline
SAS Scandinavian Airlines is looking to Star Alliance partner Lufthansa to help invest €60 million ($55 million) in Spanair as the Spanish carrier starts its fleet renewal programme. The board of Spain's second biggest airline approved a capital increase of Ptas2 billion ($110.5 million) last week, to be funded pro rata by each shareholder.
SAS now holds 49% of the company, with Spanish travel agency Teinver holding the majority stake. SAS is thought to be in talks with Lufthansa about a possible investment in Spanair in return for equity. SAS refuses to disclose details, but says that it is set to make a statement to the Stockholm stock exchange about a possible divestment within the next month.
The injection is to fund the airline's long-term financial plan and the acquisition of up to 45 Airbus A320s. Lufthansa's interest came to light during the delivery celebrations for the first of these aircraft last November when Teinver president Pascual Arias Gonzalo announced a possible share-swap between the Star Alliance partners this year.
Lufthansa says that talk of acquiring a stake in Spanair is speculation at this stage. The German carrier will wait for SAS to finalise investment details before taking a stake.
The Scandinavian carrier was shaken last month by the European Commission's decision to fine the airline €39 million over its collusion with Danish regional carrier Maersk. SAS was forced to reshuffle its board following commercial vice president Vagn Sorensen's resignation in the wake of the affair. Inside sources say that the airline is now more reticent about doing deals with other carriers. The carrier also failed in a bid to acquire Norwegian carrier Braathens last month.
SAS investor relations director Sture Stolen says that the need for capital investment in Spanair is fairly urgent and that the SASboard now has to agree to the amount negotiated with the Palma de Mallorca-based airline. "Funds are not a problem for SAS as we have a strong liquidity and healthy equity ratio," says Stolen. Spanair says that the capital increase was approved at the last board meeting.
Source: Flight International
