Polish Government denies having chosen the successful bidder for LOT

Published: 10/21/1999

Polish Treasury Minister, Emil Wasacz, has denied press reports that British Airways has been chosen as the strategic investor for exclusive talks on the sale of a minority stake in national air carrier, LOT. Earlier, the ministry had said it would select one or two of the three shortlisted bidders for further talks on buying a 10% stake in the carrier. BA, Lufthansa and SwissAir have all confirmed that they have submitted final offers to buy into LOT. Wasacz confirmed that he had decided that there would be only one investor with whom the ministry would hold exclusive talks, but said that no decision had yet been made on a candidate. Under the Treasury's privatisation scheme, the buyer will be required to increase the airline's capital by 30-50%, to realise a 38% stake in the company by the end of the first phase of the sell-off. In the second phase, to follow after two years, the investor can increase its stake to 49%. LOT, which has 15 Boeing 737s and five long-range Boeing 767s, carried nearly 2.6m passengers in 1998, representing an 11% increase over the previous year. In 1998, it returned to profit after years of losses.

Article ID: 992