Lufthansa – State Aid Dispute: The Bankruptcy Lantern



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The rescue of Lufthansa by the German state is said to involve aid of around ten billion euros. As SPIEGEL learned from negotiating circles, € 5.5 billion will flow in the form of silent participation, for which the federal government requires a guaranteed dividend of nine percent. It also plans to join Lufthansa directly at 25.1 percent, which should cost just under a billion. The state credit institution for reconstruction will contribute another 3,500 million and the government will guarantee it.

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Does anyone remember the ash cloud? It was almost ten years ago that an Icelandic volcano called Eyjafjallajökull produced images similar to those of the corona virus today: thousands of planes remained on the ground because the federal government had banned a flight. Lufthansa considered the measure to be excessive and discussed it in public with then-responsible Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer (CSU), to no avail. Then the relationship between government and administration was shattered.

That only changed when Carsten Spohr moved to the top of the group in 2014. The trained pilot managed to catch politicians and be heard over his company’s concerns. At times, it even seemed that Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) was an outstretched arm of Lufthansa, so easy to understand. In return, Spohr refrained from criticism.

Out and over. Just in time for the tenth anniversary of the volcanic eruption, Spohr is on a confrontational course and risks losing his good reputation. The airline needs money, lots of money to survive, even from the state. Around ten billion euros will flow, five and a half of which in the form of a silent stake for which the federal government demands a guaranteed dividend of nine percent. It also plans to join Lufthansa directly at 25.1 percent, which should cost just under a billion. The state credit institution for reconstruction will contribute another 3,500 million and the government will guarantee it. In the event that Austria, Belgium and Switzerland support Lufthansa’s subsidiaries, Austrian Airlines, Brussels and Switzerland, this will be taken into account. In return, however, federal states require the right to have an opinion and veto. And Spohr doesn’t like that at all. An airline, he says, is difficult to control. He prefers to request a protective shield procedure than the Condor. The light version of insolvency would allow you to keep creditors at a distance and maintain control along with a court-appointed administrator.

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