Five bids have been made for the assets of Slovenia’s bankrupt national carrier Adria Airways. Of those, four are related to the purchase of all or part of the airline, while one is for the acquisition of the Adria Airways Flight School. One of the bidders is said to be from abroad, while the other four are Slovenian. The company’s receiver, Janez Pustatičnik, has begun talks with the investors, following which future steps in the process will be determined. Some of Adria’s assets include the brand, land property rights and the head office building, aircraft parts, select permits, a flight school and two apartments.
The five bidders have not been officially identified, however, local media have named several of them. It is believed Joc Pečečnik, the founder of Interblock Gaming, which manufactures products for lottery games, has submitted a bid for the entire estate of the bankrupt airline in cooperation with a partner from abroad. According to reports, Mr Pečenik's plan is to establish a new Adria with the help of the carrier's former CEO Mark Anžur. Mr Anžur ran the company from late 2012 until its privatisation in March 2016. He later went on to serve as the CEO of the Irish regional carrier Stobart Air for an eight-month period.
Produce importer and real estate developer Izet Rastoder has also been identified as one of the bidders. He is believed to be interested in Adria’s Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). The Slovenian ultralight electric aircraft maker Pipistrel has confirmed it submitted a bid for the Adria Airways Flight School. Pipistrel is bidding for the school as a whole, including all its assets, brand and licence. Meanwhile, the Slovenian state-owned Bank Assets Management Company (BAMC) has submitted a draft business plan for the country’s potential new national airline to the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology. The Ministry will now review the data after which it will deicide whether to establish a new flag carrier. A decision is expected by the end of the month.
Ironically, there is more interest for bankrupt Adria then at the time it was fully operational. In 2016 there were 3 bids.
ReplyDeleteMaybe because now it will cost them pennies to buy them.
DeleteAnd because Adria was debt ridden.
Delete@9.01 sad but true
Delete"According to reports, Mr Pečenik's plan is to establish a new Adria with the help of the carrier's former CEO Mark Anžur."
ReplyDeleteSounds promising LOL.
Actually this would be best I hope it happens. Because it would mean that a 100% private airline would be set up and the government would give up on the idea of establishing a state owned carrier.
DeleteHow did Anzur do as CEO?
DeleteHe was constantly saying how Slovenian market is too small and that it needs to focus on other areas in Europe. He also turned Adria into LCC (with full fare prices).
DeleteThe Slovenian market is small. That's why I don't see a new airline working out.
DeleteDuring Anzur Adria actually managed to make a small profit one year for the first time in many years. Without selling assets.
DeleteAnzur was the best Adria CEO in the last 2 decades.
DeleteCan you list what he did that was so impressive?
DeleteRead the previous comments ........ he made PROFIT !!!
DeleteNone of the other CEO's achieved that without selling assets !!
It's more what he didn't do.
DeleteHe didn't sell brand to fake financial results. He didn't plan massive expansion without being certain the fleet can support it. He didn't introduce Saab 2000 into the fleet. He didn't order 2 brand new A319s with crazy lease contracts. He didn't prioritise ACMI while cancelling own scheduled flights.
Shall I go on?
I worked for Adria, very close to the managements and Anžur was the not a good CEO, he didn't want to get into conflict with anybody, he just wanted to survive his mandate, hoping that he wouldn't get replaced in the same way he replaced Boštjančič. Anžur was the person who condemned Adria and established a perfect "playground" for 4k. And at the end he walked away victorious, because when 4K terminated his mandate after becoming the owner of Adria, he got a massive severance.
DeleteFrom all the CEO's I've worked with in Adria, Boštjančič was the only one who really began dealing with the problems and solving the issues... that's why he was replaced by pilot and cabin crew union...
I assume the government is waiting to see the outcome of this before deciding on new airline. There would be little point in doing it if someone else plans to start their own airline with Adria's AOC.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteI hope that the numbers from BAMC alone will dissuade them from this crazy project.
DeleteIs the AOC still valid? I mean the airline has been out of business for over a month.
ReplyDeleteAOC stays valid.
DeleteYes that could be of interest to this "foreigner" that has made a bid. Especially if the entity is from outside the EU.
DeleteA non-EU company can still own only 49% of the AOC holder, to make it usable in EU.
DeleteSo the Adria name may live after all :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a good name for an airline. Hope it lives on.
DeleteSuch a good name that many people swore on public TV they would never fly with Adria again, after all the chaos this and last summer.
DeleteWith some marketing and good pricing that can be turned around.
DeleteWho says they would use the Adria name?
DeleteDo they have any slots on sale, in particular at any congested airport? Or were they forfeited due to non-usage or lack of timely request for renewal for S2020? That may be valuable and I wouldn't be surprised if any of the bidders would not already commit to resell of those to an airline.
ReplyDeleteThey do have some slots. For example they (I assume bankruptcy administrator) is fighting to keep slots at Amsterdam Airport.
DeleteHope it works out for some of them.
ReplyDeleteWill the money raised be used to pay off Adria's creditors or does it for to the state.
ReplyDeletePreferential creditors (employees) are paid off first.
DeleteWould be hilarious if one of the bidders was 4K Invest.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised.
DeleteAre they still in business?
DeleteTheir website is still offline.
DeleteThey are. They have other investments too.
DeleteIt's so sad it has come to this :(
ReplyDeleteJP was on the verge of bankruptcy throughout its history. It hardly comes as a surprise.
DeleteExcept for Pipistrel, I can't take any of them seriously.
ReplyDeleteAdria just won't die. The story is over, everyone has moved on, it's time for them to do the same. They make it seem like Lufthansa went bankrupt and not some small, relatively insignificant airline did.
ReplyDeleteFor Slovenia it was very significant.
DeleteWas it though? It barely had 50% of the market share and that was when you factor in all the transfers they had from places like SKP, SJJ, PRN, TIA, SOF ... without them their marketshare would be around 25%.
DeleteI wonder what the entire company could fetch at this point. If 4K bought it for peanuts while still operational I wouldn't be surprised if someone takes it for a euro.
ReplyDeleteThe foreign company is probably the one that will then partner with Slovenian government to set up a new national airline.
ReplyDeleteMost certainly. I highly doubt the government will start the airline from scratch, without AOC and other permits.
DeleteWhat does Izet Rastoder do?
ReplyDeleteIt says: "Produce importer and real estate developer"
DeleteHe trades with bananas. Apparently the sixth biggest in the world.
DeleteHe is also from Petnjica, Montenegro :D
DeleteInteresting but what does he know about aviation?
DeleteHe is expert in bananas, not in aviation. But apperently he has to much money on disposal.
DeleteQuestion should be - is he ready to pay somebody who does know about aviation.
DeleteHe has money to hire someone who has knowledge of aviation.
DeleteIzet Rastoder, skip to 10:10
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPiewP_tLDo&t=9s
^^ Thanks for the video. Interesting. Quite an empire. Maybe his airline would fly to these markets where he exports bananas :D
DeleteWell it is highly possible that he wants to set up a cargo airline.
DeleteYou can't deliver bananas by air- too expensive. Only very expensive fruits
DeleteI'm waiting to hear behind who is Lufthansa standing :D
ReplyDeletehaha good one
DeleteProbably the government's idea to create a new national airline so they can get a new feeder without wasting their own aircraft and resources.
Deletethe slovenian bidmakers prove that Adria was indeed significant for the slovenian economy
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteOr it proves that it is really no economical sense in it so nobody else applied?
DeleteIf someone does set up a new airline, I hope it is an LCC.
ReplyDeleteTo be an LCC, you need A320/B737 and a large fleet.
DeleteSlovenian market is too small for any of that.
It's a lost cause for whoever is wishing to set up a new airline. It is just too competitive for a newcomer to survive.
ReplyDeleteYes, we just have to look at FlyBosnia!
DeleteI think potential customers are becoming very wary of new airlines. There failure rate is astronomical. I would never book with an airline younger than 3 years.
DeleteIf you offer them cheap prices people will fly. I doubt many foreigners did research whether Adria was a start up or 58 year in business.
DeleteThe way the business was run you couldn't tell the difference.
DeleteWhich routes could be profitable for an airline based in LJU?
ReplyDeleteIt depends on a range of factors, including your fleet, pricing, business model.
DeleteIt was reported in the media that the DUTB's (BAMC) calculations show that profitability is only if 80% LF is achieved.
DeleteSo good luck with achieving that the whole year long.
Embraer E190 is the ideal aircraft for year round operations for every airline in our region.
DeleteAnd when will we know the outcome of these talks?
ReplyDeleteEnd of the month.
DeleteThanks. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I guess the transaction(s) could be completed by the end of the year.
DeleteI think that's that's the idea.
DeleteWhere were all these investors 3 years ago when Adria was being sold?
ReplyDeleteBuying an airline which assets are AOC permits, brand and slots at desirable times with no losses is much better than getting involved into what Adria was in the past two to three years + burden of accumulated losses
DeleteRgds, 8
Exactly. They were smart and not wasting their money on a lost cause.
Deleteand even better: you dictate the new working conditions and benefits (i.e. new employment contracts)
DeleteExactly. And given the amount of moaning by pilots in the media it's clear they will work virtually any salary as long as they can stay in Slovenia.
DeleteYeah, they will work for free (as they should). Am I right? These fu*king pilots should be paying to work (as some of them already did with their training). Is that what the above posters were trying to say? As long as they don't more money as you do, you'll be happy, right?
DeleteWhat a bunch of twats.
No, just basic economics of supply and demand.
DeleteA lot of pilots on the market + low demand = low wages
Well, supply/demand is self explanatory. But "moaning pilots" comment disgusts me. People lost their jobs and a*holes are cheering about it. Bunch of twats. And it's all about salaries and envy. Twats.
Deletewill fly for food meme comes to mind. of course only if food is gold plated at least 24k, but hey, altruism of the union representatives just ouzes out of every pore :D
DeleteLast comment?
DeleteIf they give to one of these guys hoping to set up a new airline, it will another overly ambitious project that is bound to fail.
ReplyDelete*will be
DeleteThe fact is most of the smaller airlines will disappear over the next few years, if not sooner. There are far too many airlines operating in Europe at the moment, and not enough customers. The low fares available at the moment are not sustainable.
ReplyDeleteAmin. But if someone wants to burn money and set up their own airline let them. Just don't let it be state money.
Delete+1.
DeleteIt's difficult even now to compete against LH, IAG, Ryanair and Easyjet. And it will become even more difficult in the coming years.
I don´t understand this mania of creating a "national carrier". What? Is this 1950?
ReplyDeleteAllow more carriers to come and increase frequencies or allow LCC to create bases. Just apply the successful "Budapest model".
Slovenia does not need to rely on a new failing airline with an ancient business model and the "hub" obsession.
Bring Gulf carriers, allow FR, bring Japan and Korea seasonal flights as a start and voilà !
If some of these five bidders set up a new airline I don't think it would be a "national airline". It would just be some private airline based in Ljubljana. Like Fly Bosnia in Sarajevo.
DeleteKako moze slovenacki sud da prodaje nesto sto je navodno pod Maltom (ime kompanije brend)? Sve vesti su znaci bila laz i 4k je bio maska za slovenacku vladu. Da cujem slovenacke takspejere.
ReplyDeleteNo. It's simply that you missed the news that the Maltese company that bought the brand was later absorbed by Adria, so the brand returned into Adria's ownership
Deletehttps://www.exyuaviation.com/2019/02/adria-airways-gets-new-part-owner.html
Koliko ja razumem saopstenja iz Adrie oni su tada prodati STBEu.
Delete"Adria Airways said its strategy and day-to-day operations would remain unchanged under the new ownership structure. "The merger by acquisition on behalf of STBE is one of the measures to improve the company's financial strength and performance", "
No. Adria absorbed STBE. It means Adria takes over STBE assets (the only probably being Adria brand) while in return the owner of STBE gets ownership stake in Adria.
DeleteAnd while Slovenia is dealing with the bankruptcy proceedings, has anyone questioned 4K Invest for money laundering?
Deletethey've said they used gorenje washing maschines, so all good 'cause it's a slovenia based company :D #sarcasmoff
DeleteWell for ex-employees I hope there are good offers that will be accepted so ex-employees can finally be paid unpaid wages.
ReplyDeleteSweet dreams.
DeleteI would be surprised if they manage to get more than couple of hundred EUR for everything altogether.
The investors know they've got the upper hand.
Could a new airline be set up under the same name?
ReplyDeleteNot a smart move.
DeleteA nice list of disaster investors.
ReplyDeleteHow can you conclude that. You don't even know all the investors or what they have planned.
DeleteIf some of these want to set up a private airline I'm fine with that. But please no more state run airlines. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteFlight School seems like the most valuable asset from all of this.
ReplyDeleteAnd thankfully a company in the aviation industry wants to buy it.
DeleteThey flight school had 300k loss last year, which is a lot.
DeleteThey also owe a lot of money to students who have paid their training in advance and did not receive services in return.
Flight school had 300k loss due to massive financial exhaustion by one of the management teams that "kidnapped" the school with exclusive contracts and finally made a spin-off flight school in Maribor. That happened when Flight school was still in Slovenian government's hands. The only good thing 4K did for the flight school, was to terminate all contracts with the "spin-off" school. This is about the history.. But for the school to take student's money for flight training, hours before bankruptcy is just wrong. And Accountable Manager of the flight school was also Accountable Manager of Adria Airlines at the same time - so he was well aware of the financials and imminent bankruptcy.
DeleteHey Anon 03:55, do you have any proof of what you're saying? Because I was a student there when those guys left and I know what was going on in the school before that and after that and it sure definitely didn't happen like you're saying. Back then the school functioned like a real flight school, airplanes were maintained, we were flying a lot, the energy was great and nobody complained, despite the fact that Adria was charging the school over 100K rent per year for simulator and offices the flight school used. So get all you facts straight before making nonsense accusations, spread by the same Adria people and pilots who ended up bankrupting both companies. I ended up walking away from the toxic environment in Adria flight school and finishing the training in Maribor with those guys, and I don't regret it for a second.
DeleteAnon 13:40 - I guess most of the informed aviation community in Ljubljana is wrong then... Also some of the people, that worked and tried to salvage the situation. But don't take my word.. two court cases against "those guys" speak for itself. There is no need to go into flame-war - let us just agree do disagree and have a nice flight...
DeleteAnon 17:48. the Ljubljana aviation community that you speak of, are a bunch of jeaouls individuals from Adria that were/are spreading lies, because of personal disputes. There are no court cases - check publicly accessible information and facts, not rumours and stop spreading false information.
DeleteThe only court cases here are the bankruptcy proceedings which was co-caused by the same people spreading the lies and rumours.
as an outside observer i find the phrase "ljubljana aviation community" actually laughable. as far as i remember real aviation in SLO happens elswhere and none of the aviation's big names is from lju. lju folks only managed to improved their airfield by redeveloping it into BTC in the 70's.
DeleteI can confirm what Anonymous16 November 2019 at 03:55 is saying. I also know, why no charges were pressed against the culpruit. He has a name - Sandi Knez. He is a failed individual, who came together with other ex-Vegrad directors and burned Adria to the ground with their incompetence. Google him. He was also appointed head of CAA at one time, thus showing the absolute bottom slovenian aviation has hit. He was promptly fired after it was proved several times, that he was awarding business opportunites to his firends while being head of CAA. When they established ACC, which had almost same logo as Adria School and after they kidnapped Adria Flight School web address (by re-directing it to their web page), after stealing aproximately 1 milion € and transferring the pupils from Adria to ACC, new owner (4k) DID NOTHING. I would suspect that they were compensated in some way in irregular fashion. The indivudual in question also illegaly entered Adria school database and tried to falsificate log entries in order to hurt some people who were also active pilots for Adria Airways at the time. He is so stupid, that he left plenty of digital footprint but again, the owners, although there this was the case for criminal police, they didn't do anything. I can only hope, that for that and for their criminal managing of Adria, they will one day serve some time in prison.
Delete@notLufthansa so what you're saying is that ex-Vegrad directors came to Adria, to flight school and then CAA, made some sort of conspiracy scenario with 4K and then together bankrupted Adria and the flight school? Man, from which planet did you fall from?
DeleteI checked the record in Ajpes, how can anybody steal a million eur from the flight school, if the company had the highest yearly income revenue of 850K? That means that he wouldn't pay a single invoice (for fuel, instructors, maintenance) for more than one year. I guess that that's also part of the conspiracy scenario, haha!
Like it was written above, check the figures and public records first, do some logical thinking and stop listening to lies and spreading them further, just because you might have personal grudges to somebody, I guess you're not 6 years old...
notLufthansa: “Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”
Delete@anon at 10:46 - what conspiracy theory? I'm not spreading none. Where did you spoted that I'm spreading any theories? 1 mio € - package from 0 to frozen ATPL was roughly 100.000 €. They transferred the advanced payements and took over 10 foreigh students to their spin-off company called ACC, which was the same as Adria Flight school was called. They even kidnaped the web page at some time, so if you clicked on link for AFS.si you were transferred to afcc.si. This was just one of the criminal acts they pulled. There were more, but unfortunately people from AFS didn't follow suggestions and asked for criminal investigation, as owner was not interested in pursuing them.
DeletenoLufthansa - I know for a fact, AFS was asking for a criminal investigation, but 4K blocked it. You know Adria legal and CEO were very "close" - formal answer from Adria CEO was: "We don't want police in our building, so there will be no investigation". But un/fortunatly all that is now history and no amount of forum activity will change that.
DeleteI must say it's impressive at what speed Slovenia has had gotten this process underway. Just a month and a half after Adria went bankrupt.
ReplyDeleteit’s time to let the past die. kill it
ReplyDelete