State to sell up to 70% stake in Croatia Airlines
The Croatian government plans to sell a 70% stake in the national carrier by June 2020, while retaining a 30% share. The Minister for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, said the government’s recent decision to inject 33.7 million euros into the airline would help it find a strategic investor which would agree to a partnership “based on 30% state ownership, and 70% private investment”. He added, “Consultants are currently looking into potential strategic partners and will decide on the best possible recapitalisation model by year’s end. Then we will launch a public tender. Based on the government’s decision, we will select a strategic partner by the end of June 2020. The focus is currently on finding an investor from the aviation sector, but we are not insisting on it. Different sale models foresee interest from different types of investors. Interest has certainly been shown”.
Mr Butković said the Croatian government would avoid concluding a similar agreement to the one its Slovenian counterparts made with Germany’s 4K Invest over the sale of the now- bankrupt Adria Airways. “We don’t want such a strategic partnership, where state interests and services of importance to Croatia would not be safeguarded”, Mr Butković said. He warned that Croatia Airlines could face a similar scenario to that of Adria if the privatisation process fails. “If we are unable to find a strategic partner and the process is unsuccessful, such a scenario is possible. However, I am certain we will find the best possible solution to stabilise Croatia Airlines and enable it to grow. Croatia, as a country dependent on tourism, needs a national carrier. We are not in the same situation as Slovenia. Adria Airways was a privately-owned company and, as a result, the state was limited in its ability to provide financial assistance. Furthermore, we can’t put the two companies on an equal footing in terms of the size of the market and volume of operations”, the Minister said.
The Croatian government has set up a multi-member, inter-agency committee whose main task is to seek out potential investors for Croatia Airlines, while a consortium made of the Privredna banka Zagreb and Germany's DVB Bank are acting as its privatisation advisors. Earlier this year, Mr Butković hinted that Croatia Airlines' various divisions could be divided and sold off separately to increase the carrier's privatisation prospects, noting that "several scenarios" were in play and being considered. Last year, the President of the Croatia Airlines Supervisory Board, Zlatko Mateša, who is also a member of the above-mentioned inter-agency committee, said a European partner would be ideal for Croatia Airlines as it could take over a majority stake in line with European Union regulations.
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