SAS increases holding in Spanair to 94.9%

Airline Industry Information, Nov 24, 2003

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

The Scandinavian airline group SAS Group said on Saturday (22 November) that it had agreed to increase its holding in Spanair SA from its current 73.9% to 94.9%.

SAS Group said that it would pay Spanair's other principal owner, Teinver SA, EUR73.5m for the shares.

"The price is based on the same valuation of Spanair that was applied when the SAS Group acquired a majority holding in the airline in 2002," SAS Group said.

"The remaining 5.1% will be retained by Teinver for the time being, but there is a possibility for the company to sell its remaining shareholding in Spanair to SAS. The SAS Group is also entitled to acquire Teinver's remaining shares in Spanair on the same terms and conditions as Teinver is able to sell its shares to the SAS Group," SAS Group added.

SAS Group said that the deal followed its strategy to have full shareholding in its subsidiaries.

One euro (EUR) is worth approximately 0.7 British pounds (GBP).

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