Government says ‘not interested in selling now’
TWO COMPANIES with American and Greek interests have expressed an interest in acquiring a 51 per cent stake in Cyprus Airways (CY), the airline announced to the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday.
And although Transport Minister Haris Thrasou told the Cyprus Mail last night that the government, which owns nearly 70 per cent of the airline, had no intention of selling now, he said it could not be ruled out in the future.
According to the CY announcement to the CSE, representatives of Olympic Investors and York Capital Management had a meeting at their request with the chairman of the CY board and the general manager of the company.
“During the meeting the representatives informed Cyprus Airways of the interest shown by Olympic Investors in the past, for the acquisition of a majority package of shares in Olympic, and expressed the desire for similar types of investments in Cyprus,” the announcement said.
“On the part of Cyprus Airways it was pointed out to the representatives of the abovementioned companies that the relevant agency for such issues is the Government of the Republic,” it added.
Thrasou confirmed the expression of interest by the two companies to acquire 51 per cent of the airline. He said however he had no further information. “I don’t believe the government wants to sell the company – at least not during this current period,” said Thrasou.
“The prices on the market are very low and the company would not be bought for its real value. The government would not be interested in selling for the time being but I don’t exclude such a move in the future.”
Thrasou said he would be travelling to Brussels on Sunday and would meet on Monday with EU transport officials on the latest developments with regards to the airline’s restructuring plan, accepted only weeks ago by the unions. The government needs approval from the EU to act as a guarantor for a long-term loan for the airline and must prove CY stands to become a viable proposition.
CY needs some £60 million to get back on its feet and cover the cost of shedding nearly one quarter of its 1,800 workforce, which is currently underway with the unions, although the discussions are reportedly not going smoothly on the issue of who will stay and who will go.
In addition the government had hoped to purchase CY’s charter subsidiary Eurocypria before the Brussels visit but the two sides are still haggling over the price.
Thrasou said a meeting on the issue took place yesterday but no deal was concluded. “There will be another meeting in a week or so when we get back from Brussels,” he said.
