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Latvian gov't to sell off its stake in airBaltic in 5 years

Xinhua, June 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Latvian government intends to sell off all its shares in national carrier airBaltic in the next five years, the company's CEO Martin Gauss told press Wednesday.

He explained that airBaltic needed private capital to develop. The sell-off process might be gradual in which a minority shareholder would acquire controlling interest in the company with time, he said.

Latvian Transport Ministrer Anrijs Matiss said earlier on Wednesday that Latvia was ready to sell stakes in airBaltic to Estonia and Lithuania because the three countries should have one common pan-Baltic airline.

"We have consulted our Estonian and Lithuanian colleagues on this matter but at the same time we are looking for foreign investors," the minister said. "We are prepared to negotiate on stake sizes, who will get how much. But the majority stake, or at least 51 percent, should remain in the hands of the Baltic states," the Latvian minister said.

The Latvian state owns a 99.8 percent stake in airBaltic. Endit