Czech MRO group Avia Prime is to take a 99% stake in Jat Tehnika.
Czech MRO group Avia Prime is to take a 99% stake in Jat Tehnika.
Serbia’s economy ministry says Avia Prime was the sole bidder during a third privatisation effort, under which submissions were accepted in late October.
Swiss provider SR Technics also requested information about Belgrade-based Jat Tehnika but did not then submit an offer, the ministry notes.
An asking price of €10.3 million ($11.3 million) was set by the ministry – the same amount as specified for a previous bidding round in September.
During the first round, launched in June with deadline at the end of July, the ministry had asked for €20.5 million. However, neither of the first two rounds attracted any offers.
The ministry said after the second round in October that “certain issues” found during the process had to be “resolved beforehand in order to carry out this [privatisation] procedure in a proper and efficient manner”.
Avia Prime owns Slovenian MRO provider Adria Tehnika and Polish line-maintenance company Linetech.
Based at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla airport, Jat Tehnika specialises in the support of Airbus A320-family jets, Boeing 737s and ATR turboprops.
Additionally, the company recently gained approval to serve Sukhoi Superjets, notes Avia Prime.
It adds that Jat Tehnika’s facilities comprise two hangars – the larger of which can accommodate a 787 or A330 – along with an engine shop with a test cell plus “very modern and capable workshops that cover virtually all base maintenance needs”.
Arguing that “every smaller MRO needs a strong partner”, Avia Prime Piotr Kaczor states that the enlarged group’s “greatest asset is the complexity of [its] offer”.
He says: “We can cover multiple locations along with different aircraft types, so even big airlines with a dissimilar fleet can find a good partner in our group.”
The addition of JAT Tehnika will “significantly strengthen our services”, Kaczor adds.
