Etihad to increase stake in Air Berlin
Etihad Airways is to increase its stake in struggling German airline Air Berlin to 49.9%.
The deal would see the airline, which is almost 30% owned by the Gulf carrier at the moment, being delisted from the London Stock Exchange, reported German weekly WirtschaftsWoche.
It would involve buying out small shareholders while large shareholders including former managers and TUI would retain a majority, keeping the airline under German control.
The German magazine says Air Berlin, Germany’s No.2 airline after Lufthansa, needs to remain German so as not to lose its landing slot rights outside the European Union.
The airline ran into financial problems after expanding too rapidly in the last decade. It faces stiff competition from the likes of easyJet which is expanding in Germany.
Etihad has been building a network of airlines by buying up minority stakes as it seeks to divert more passengers from its partners’ planes to its Abu Dhabi hub.
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