LOT Polish Airlines and turnaround fund 4K Invest, which owns Adria Airways, have reportedly expressed interest in taking a stake in Croatia Airlines. According to local media, the two are pondering at the prospect of becoming the Croatian carrier's strategic partner, as the government seeks to privatise the airline for a second time. Last week, the President of the Croatia Airlines Supervisory Board, Zlatko Mateša, hinted at Polish interest in the carrier, noting that a European partner would be ideal as it could take over a majority stake in line with European Union regulations. LOT currently maintains double daily flights between its hub in Warsaw and Zagreb, as well as seasonal services to Dubrovnik, Split, Pula and Zadar.
The Polish carrier recently expanded its operations in the region, commencing flights from Budapest to New York and Chicago, which will be followed up by services to London City next year. The airline's CEO, Rafał Milczarski, noted that the airline will be focusing on the Balkan region, which could see similar expansion in the future. Notably, emphasis will be put on cities in the area which serve as hubs for Star Alliance member airlines with whom LOT can cooperate. Both Zagreb and Ljubljana are home to national carriers which are part of the alliance, while Croatia Airlines and Adria Airways codeshare on LOT's flights from their respective hubs to Warsaw.
On the other hand, 4K Invest was linked to the potential acquisition of Croatia Airlines back in April. 4K acquired Adria via its subsidiary AA International Aviation Holding in March 2016 through a recapitalise-and-sell procedure for 100.000 euros and an additional one million euro capital injection. It later purchased the remaining shares. As part of the deal, the Slovenian government provided 3.1 million euros in capital. 4K Invest is a leading European restructuring fund registered in Luxembourg and managed out of Munich. All of it ́s subsidiaries, including AA International Holding as Adria's parent company, are completely owned by European investors, mostly German nationals.
Croatia Airlines will seek a privatisation consultant in the coming weeks. The Croatian Minister for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, said, "Croatia Airlines needs to find a strategic partner and we will commence this process. We have held talks with the company's management several times. As far as I am aware, a tender for the selection of a privatisation consultant will begin soon. They will give us answers to questions such as how, when and in what way the procedure should take place". He added, "This year is crucial in our search of a strategic partner".
Ebbene anche i dipendenti del vettore polacco hanno votato sciopero al recente referendum ed incroceranno le braccia il 1 maggio. La richiesta dei sindacati è quella di ristabilire le condizioni salariali del 2010 (non sto scherzando), quando il vettore con hub a Varsavia era sull'orlo della bancarotta.