Bahrain to sell stake in Gulf Air
Mumtalakat, Bahrain’s government investment arm, plans to sell part of Gulf Air to private investors once the airline returns to profitability.
The sale of Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, is part of a broader new strategy to generate cash and diversify Mumtalakat’s portfolio of investments, The National newspaper reported from the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Morocco.
“We own 100 per cent of Gulf Air. There’s no need for us to keep 100 per cent ownership,” says the fund’s chief executive, Talal al Zain.
How and when Mumtalakat exits Gulf Air depends mostly on the company’s health but also on the buoyancy of local markets, he said.
“How we do it depends on the timing and the interest,” he said.
“There is an IPO, there is inviting the private sector to take it through a private placement or it can be inviting a strategic partner to come in. There are several exits.
“After we break even, after we start generating profits – and that we expect in three years’ time – we should be able to get to that stage.”
Gulf Air has been one of Mumtalakat’s biggest challenges. It needed a billion-dollar capital injection from the Bahraini government last October.
Ian Jarrett
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