Cyprus Airways shares trading suspended after reports of possible sale

 

Shares in national carrier Cyprus Airways were suspended from trading today after media reports about its potential sale and financial situation, the Cyprus bourse said.

Cyprus’ cabinet on Wednesday authorised the finance minister to negotiate the sale of a stake in the state-controlled airline. One newspaper said today a potential suitor was Aeroflot, the Russian flag carrier.

The recommendation to suspend trading came from the Securities Commission, the stock exchange said. It cited “uncertainty” arising from statements and press reports on the company’s prospects and financial standing, and said it expected a clarification from the airline.

Cyprus Airways is 69 per cent controlled by the state. A government spokesman on Wednesday said the airline would raise its capital, and negotiate the sale of a share package to a private partner.

Details of the capital raising have not been disclosed. The finance minister has previously said the state was willing to sell up to a majority stake in the carrier.

The airline made a loss of €29.28 million euros in the first half of 2011, the last available financial results issued. Its full-year results will be issued at the end of the month.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.