The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG approved a bid on Friday to purchase up to 100 percent of the shares in Austrian Airlines, a move that will make it Europe's biggest airline. Lufthansa will initially acquire the 41.56 percent share in Austrian Airlines AG held by Osterreichische Industrieholding, but plans to take it over completely for up to EUR 377 million once the European Commission approves the deal. Wolfgang Mayrhuber, CEO of Lufthansa Group: “The consequences of the financial markets crisis and its effects on the real economy are having a major impact on the aviation industry. Structural changes increase the likelihood of Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines sharing a brighter future.”

 

Stand By News, 2008-12-05