The Estonian government has given the green light for the privatisation of fully state-owned carrier Nordica (ND, Tallinn Lennart Meri).
“The company does not provide flights from Tallinn to passengers on its own behalf, nor does it have realistic assumptions of providing flight services from Tallinn anymore; it does not increase connectivity with Estonia, while the Estonian state has no need to own the company. Based on these considerations, the climate minister proposes selling the company,” the decision noted.
This move gives the country’s Ministry of Climate, which formally runs the airline, the right to transfer 400,000 government-owned shares in parent entity Nordic Aviation Group at a notional value of EUR10 euros (USD10.80) through a procedure that does not include a more detailed share valuation.
In its decision, the government revealed that the shares’ ordinary value would be determined by competitive bids. Earlier, the ministry confirmed that it was in contact with seven potential Nordica buyers. However, all current interest is non-binding and Climate Minister Kristen Michal hopes that the first binding bids will arrive in early March.
The minister previously said that either privatisation or bankruptcy was in the cards for Nordica after an EY audit cited poor management as the reason behind the carrier’s grave financial situation. Nordica’s fleet consists of a sole A320-200, currently being operated by Nordica on behalf of Bamboo Airways (QH, Hanoi Noi Bai International).
Besides Nordica, the Nordic Aviation Group is the owner of ACMI specialist Xfly (Estonia) (EE, Tallinn Lennart Meri), which is up for sale separately as the group faces ongoing financial difficulties.
