Latvia’s government plans to retain just 25% of its stake in airBaltic (BT, Riga), plus one share, after it puts the company up for a long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) later this year, local media reported citing a government announcement.
"We will ensure that the airline's main base remains at Riga Airport and that the company continues to develop flight connections for both Latvia and the other Baltic states. This must be guaranteed regardless of who the investors will be," Latvian Minister of Transport Kaspars Briškens stated.
The minister also said that the government would parallel the IPO plans by negotiating with a strategic investor. However, he did not specify who the interested investor was or what stake the investor was interested in. Regardless of the outcome of these talks, the IPO is still set to take place. According to the minister, the investor will not be offered a controlling stake of 50% plus one share.
airBaltic is a 97.97%-state-owned company, while the remaining shareholder is Aircraft Leasing 1 with 2.03% of the stake, an entity owned by Danish businessman Lars Thuesen.
airBaltic posted a lost of EUR88 million euros (USD97.4 million) for the first half of 2024. However, the carrier is hoping its rising revenue and passenger numbers will be the focus for investors. In the first six months of the year, it saw 2.2 million passengers, an increase of 11% year-on-year, and its revenues jumped 16.5% to EUR339 million (USD375.2 million).
Recently, the airline announced it would add five new crew bases and signed up for ten more A220-300s.
