Lufthansa on Thursday, May 21, confirmed it was in talks with the German government over a €9 billion (US$10 billion) rescue that will see Berlin take a massive stake in the coronavirus-stricken airline, reported the Deutsche Welle.
“The concept, which has not yet been finalised, provides for stabilisation measures in the amount of up to nine billion euros, of which three billion euros is in the form of a loan” from public investment bank KfW, the German aviation giant said in a statement.
Under the plans mooted with the federal government’s economic stabilisation fund (WSF), launched to cushion the impact of the virus pandemic, the WSF would acquire a stake of 20% in the airline group, as well as a convertible bond worth “a further five percent plus one share” in the company.
The bond “can be exchanged… in the event of a public takeover offer by a third party,” giving Berlin a blocking minority.
If agreed, the solution would close weeks of wrangling over Lufthansa between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU conservatives and their center-left junior partners the SPD.
Full Content: DW
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