ATW Daily News

SAS agrees to divest bmi stake to Lufthansa for £38 million

Friday October 2, 2009

SAS agreed to sell its 20% stake in bmi to Lufthansa-related UK holding company LHBD Holding, effectively giving LH full control over bmi when the transaction takes effect on Nov 1.

Under the terms of the agreement, LHBD, which already owned an 80% stake in bmi, will pay SAS £19 million ($30.4 million) for its 20% stake. LH also agreed to pay SAS an additional £19 million for the cancellation of rights relating to a 1999 shareholder agreement. LH added that it will make further payments to SAS if it decides "to sell bmi completely or parts of the company. . .within the next two years." LH currently holds a 35% stake in LHBD, but the German carrier said it "expects to be able to acquire 100% of LHBD" in the near future.

It is unclear whether LH will look to restructure bmi and hold onto all or part of it or will seek to sell all or part. It said last month that it had received interest from 12 potential buyers for a sale of bmi (ATWOnline, Sept. 9).

Flybe Chairman and CEO Jim French told ATWOnline this week that his carrier is interested in acquiring parts of bmi and has expressed that interest to LH. He noted that "bmi losses are much higher than previously reported." Its expected 2009 losses have been pegged at £150-£170 million on revenue of around £1 billion by media reports (ATWOnline, Sept. 29).

SAS said it was divesting its interest in accordance with its "core SAS strategy with focus on the Nordic home market." It has been a shareholder in bmi since 1989. LH has been poised to take full ownership of the carrier since it announced an out-of-court settlement in June to acquire former bmi Chairman Michael Bishop's 50%-plus-one-share stake (ATWOnline, June 23).

by Aaron Karp

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