Lufthansa fully back in private hands; Covid-time government support pays off
Germany’s Covid-time support to Lufthansa has paid off by both stabilising the airline and the government selling off to private players the 20% shares it had bought in Lufthansa for Euro 306 million – as financial aid in the summer of 2020 — nearly a year before the originally anticipated time. Now, Lufthansa is once again 100% back in private hands.
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Germany’s Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF) on Tuesday announced that all the remaining shares of its holding in Deutsche Lufthansa AG had been sold to various investors via an accelerated bookbuilding process.
The WSF last held around 6.2% of the company’s share capital (74.4 million shares). The WSF had acquired its original shareholding of 20% of Lufthansa’s share capital for Euro 306 million in the summer of 2020. It was agreed at the time that the holding would be sold by October 2023 at the latest.
Lufthansa says it has already repaid all the loans and deposits received from the German government ahead of schedule in November 2021.
Following the sale of its remaining shares, the WSF no longer holds any equity stake in Deutsche Lufthansa AG. As a result, all remaining conditions will now also end.
Carsten Spohr, chairman of the executive board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG said: “On behalf of all Lufthansa employees, I would like to thank the current and previous German government and all German taxpayers for their support of our Lufthansa during the most severe financial crisis in our company’s history. The stabilisation of Lufthansa was successful, and is also paying off financially for the German government and thus for the taxpayer. We had already repaid the stabilisation loan amounts earlier than expected; and the WSF has now also sold its last remaining shares one year before the deadline. This brings the stabilisation of Lufthansa to a successful conclusion. Lufthansa is once again fully in private hands. All Lufthansa employees worldwide will continue to work hard to strengthen our position among the world’s leading airline groups, for example through a broad-based premium product and quality offensive.”
