The maintenance company looks after more than 800 customers and more than 4200 aircraft worldwide.
(Photo: dpa)
Frankfurt The partial sale of the aircraft maintenance company Lufthansa Technik is entering the final phase. According to financial circles, Lufthansa wants to select a few private equity bidders in the coming days, who will be able to submit a binding offer for a minority stake in the company, which is valued at six to seven billion euros.
Financial investors Advent, Bain and CVC will probably be there, while other interested parties such as Blackstone and KKR are no longer part of the party, according to people familiar with the auction on Friday. The bidders were originally supposed to receive feedback last week, but the process was delayed.
According to information from financial circles, this is related, among other things, to the still not finally clarified question of how much say the investors should have in Lufthansa Technik. The financial investors and Lufthansa declined to comment or have not been available so far.
Partial sale should give Lufthansa Technik better market opportunities
Lufthansa has been looking for an investor for a long time to take over 20 percent of the maintenance subsidiary. It’s not so much about getting money in the till. Rather, Lufthansa expects better market opportunities for the subsidiary from the partial sale. The global aircraft and engine maintenance business is concentrated in just a few large suppliers. The two aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing are also increasingly penetrating the market.
Lufthansa needs its own funds for its core business, CEO Carsten Spohr recently explained. The group is currently in the process of modernizing its entire fleet. As a result, Lufthansa Technik might lack funds to keep up with the tough competition, Spohr said.
It is about strengthening Lufthansa Technik, perhaps also through takeovers. For example, there are considerations of joining the state maintenance company AI Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) in India together with Air India.
At the same time, Lufthansa wants to benefit from the expertise of private equity companies and hopes to identify new market opportunities with an investor. Lufthansa finalized the sale of its catering subsidiary LSG Group to the financial investor Aurelius just this month. According to financial circles, LSG was valued at 500 to 700 million euros.
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