June 8, 2011
Qatar Airways is on the verge of buying a 35 percent stake in Cargolux, providing a long-term investor for Europe's largest all-freight airline.
A Cargolux spokeswoman said on Wednesday that a deal would be signed on Thursday, with Qatar Airways acquiring holdings that the Luxembourg state and other groups bought during the economic crisis.
The Luxembourg government and other groups took over Swissair's 33.7 percent stake in privately held Cargolux as a temporary measure at the end of 2009 after the Swiss airline went into liquidation.
Since then Cargolux has been looking for a long-term investor to take on the stake.
"(Qatar Airways) have very ambitious growth plans overall, but they also want to become a major player in air cargo so we clearly view them as being a strategic long-term partner," said the Cargolux spokeswoman.
A report in FT Deutschland published on Wednesday put the value of the stake at EUR€150 million - EUR€200 million (USD$220 million - USD$293.4 million). The company declined to comment on the price of the transaction.
Qatar Airways, half-owned by the Gulf Arab state's sovereign wealth Qatari Investment Authority, said in May it expected to sign a deal with Cargolux.
(Reuters)
Qatar Airways is on the verge of buying a 35 percent stake in Cargolux, providing a long-term investor for Europe's largest all-freight airline.
A Cargolux spokeswoman said on Wednesday that a deal would be signed on Thursday, with Qatar Airways acquiring holdings that the Luxembourg state and other groups bought during the economic crisis.
The Luxembourg government and other groups took over Swissair's 33.7 percent stake in privately held Cargolux as a temporary measure at the end of 2009 after the Swiss airline went into liquidation.
Since then Cargolux has been looking for a long-term investor to take on the stake.
"(Qatar Airways) have very ambitious growth plans overall, but they also want to become a major player in air cargo so we clearly view them as being a strategic long-term partner," said the Cargolux spokeswoman.
A report in FT Deutschland published on Wednesday put the value of the stake at EUR€150 million - EUR€200 million (USD$220 million - USD$293.4 million). The company declined to comment on the price of the transaction.
Qatar Airways, half-owned by the Gulf Arab state's sovereign wealth Qatari Investment Authority, said in May it expected to sign a deal with Cargolux.
(Reuters)