Virgin Atlantic Airways is negotiating the disposal of up to its entire 49% Virgin Nigeria stake and may withdraw its branding from the carrier as part of its planned exit.
Lagos-based Virgin Nigeria was established in October 2004 and launched operations in June 2005. Nigerian institutional investors own 51% of the carrier and Virgin Atlantic holds the remainder, but the UK carrier is seeking to sell its stake so that it can focus on its own core long-haul operation.
"At the moment we are in discussions with potential purchasers. Those talks are ongoing and have been in progress for several weeks," says Virgin Atlantic.
"We've always said, since it launched, that it's important that Virgin Nigeria goes its own way and is wholly owned by Nigerian investors. Now it's been just over three years so it's appropriate to have those talks now. We've helped it to become a safe and reliable flag carrier for the region."
Last year Virgin Atlantic's annual profits were dragged down to just £6.6 million ($12.3 million) after Virgin Nigeria posted a £41 million loss.
Virgin says it is in discussions with several parties, which are "mostly, but not all" Nigerian. He adds that none of the candidates are airlines.
Tensions are running high between Virgin Nigeria and the Nigerian government because of a dispute over whether the airline should be allowed to continue operating its domestic services from Lagos's international terminal.
Source: Flight International
