The Montenegrin government will hold talks with a "serious European carrier" over the takeover of Montenegro Airlines during the first week of October, Prime Minister Duško Marković has said. Speaking at the Miločer Development Forum this week, Mr Marković noted, "We will do everything in order for the national airline to survive. During the first week of October, I will talk with partners who are interested in buying our national airline. It is a serious European airline. If the offer is good, we will work towards an agreement". The statement comes just weeks after the Montenegrin Minister for Transportation and Maritime Affairs said that a "major international company" plans to purchase a stake in Montenegro Airlines and will soon submit its letter of intent to the government.
The Prime Minister did not specify which European airline has expressed interest in its Montenegrin counterpart. Over the past few months both LOT Polish Airlines and the owners of Slovenia's Adria Airways, 4K Invest, have been linked with Croatia Airlines' privatisation process. In June, LOT said, "After establishing a partnership with Nordica in Estonia, we are interested in further consolidation of the aviation market in Central and East Europe". Asked earlier this year whether Adria sees opportunities in cooperating more closely with other airlines from the former Yugoslavia, the Slovenian carrier said, "We strongly believe in synergies among partners and thus we continuously seek for opportunities. We are always open for closer cooperation, new markets, greater efficiency and faster growth – without jeopardizing sustainability. The success of such cooperation depends on more complex factors, so our decisions and future directions are and will be cautious".
Previous attempts to privatise Montenegro Airlines have all failed. Interest has ranged from El Al Israel Airlines to Turkish Airlines and Etihad Airways. In its 2018 progress report on Montenegro, the European Commission noted, "The national airline company Montenegro Airlines is facing major sustainability issues, having accumulated significant financial debts". It urged the government to sell its shares in the airline. A company from inside the European Union could take a majority stake in Montenegro Airlines. Under the union's rules, those from outside the block can only purchase up to a 49% share in a company originating from an EU member state or from those aspiring to join the EU, such as Montenegro.
Comments
or is it Aeroflot?
It will have to be an EU or EFTA registered airline.
Previous and current govt, as well as current mgt, is slowly killing it on the one side, while on the other, increasing competition is also doing its part.
The longer they wait, the further they get from anyone being interested in OU - even if they were to end up giving it away for EUR1.
Crna gora is a the new alternative for those who have been to Croatia and the country has much to offer.
I love the Boeing btw, so legacy.
I can tell you what's going to happen with Adria, I heard it from very reliable sources who work at FRA airport: it's going to become insolvent (ie go bankrupt), Eurowings is going to take over its Airbus fleet plus the Airbus crews and some of the CRJ crews (EWG has a huge pilot shortage). They are going to take over some of the routes (VIE, MUC), and that's about it.
So in a sense you are right, it is Lufthansa, just not in the way you folks here imagine.
Some entity from just about any part of this world sets up a Privatstiftung in Austria, this "foundation" will hold about 51% of an airline and because it is registered in Austria it ensures the majority EU ownership and it does not really matter who the "minority" owner of the airline is and how she controls the "foundation" (because it is a "foundation" and not a corporation, it has now owner, just beneficiaries and therefore the foundation counts as the final owner and counts as EU because it is registered in Austria)
This way Easyjet Europe is a normal EU airline, no matter how the ownership structure of the Easyjet main company changes. The same applies to Anisec (Level Austria) or anybody setting up a airline in Austria.
If anybody with a non-EU passport is interested in buying an airline that operates under EU laws, she will normally go via Vienna these days.
it is not a fleet at all; JP has leased 3 a319!
I guess LH is spending hundreds of board meetings to plot a strategy on how to get them ;-)
even if the just signed a ACMI deal for a a319; they do not have a single a319 on order, because it is rather costly to operate, compared to the rest of their fleet
they announced just yesterday, that they will add 14 Embraer to their Italian operations.
If they were so worried about CG, they would just deploy few of their machines form AirDolomiti and randomly assign a EW, OS, LH or whatever code to it
it will be either 4K or any other fund that specializes in distressed assets
There is nothing that LOT could by with YM, that they could not get cheaper elsewhere with less strings attached
OE was different story, as it provides an establish AOC with A320 operation, which can increase their rate of expansion (i.e. you can get both A320s and B737s of production line at the same time), as well as a more recognised brand in the large Austrian-German market.