Vladislav Filev, the CEO of S7 Group, has dropped plans to acquire control of Transaero Airlines (Moscow Vnukovo) after he was unable to secure enough shares.
In a development that mirrors Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) and its failed bid to acquire 75%+1 share in Transaero in September, Filev told Interfax news agency there were not enough unencumbered Transaero shares needed to meet his requirement of at least 51% shareholding. The announcement comes after a meeting between S7 representatives and Transaero management and creditors on Friday last week.
Filev had planned to consolidate Transaero into the S7 Group alongside existing carriers S7 Airlines (S7, Novosibirsk) and Globus (Novosibirsk). The CEO believed that he could have restored "some form" of Transaero's operations within six months though creditors and government officials have questioned his longterm plan given the revocation of Transaero's AOC late last month.
