Greece’s Aegean Airlines and Spain’s Air Nostrum have submitted non-binding bids for the acquisition of Croatia Airlines, local media report. The carrier noted this week that two entities have submitted their offers to the airline’s privatisation advisors, PBZ and DVB, without providing further information. The government has set a deadline to either fully privatise or recapitalise Croatia Airlines by June 2020. According to media reports, the advisors will now analyse the submitted offers and pass them on to the company’s management. An inter-agency committee, set up by the state, will then select the best offer, if it meets their set requirements.
Aegean Airlines expressed initial interest for its fellow Star Alliance member Croatia Airlines back in 2015. The Greek carrier has grown its network in Croatia over the past few years and now maintains services from Athens to Zagreb for the majority of the year, while flights to Dubrovnik have been extended for most of the winter this year. It also runs seasonal operations to Split. On the other hand, Air Nostrum, which is part of the Iberia Regional franchise and a Oneworld alliance affiliate member, has been wet-leasing its aircraft to Croatia Airlines over the summer months for the past three years. Iberia itself has significantly expanded its flight offering to Croatia.
The Croatian Minister for Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Oleg Butković, said last month the government plans to sell up to a 70% stake in Croatia Airlines. He added, “Consultants are currently looking into potential strategic partners and will decide on the best possible recapitalisation model by year’s end. Then we will launch a public tender. Based on the government’s decision, we will select a strategic partner by the end of June 2020. The focus is currently on finding an investor from the aviation sector, but we are not insisting on it. Different sales models foresee interest from different types of investors. Interest has certainly been shown”. The government has also mulled the possibility of creating a holding comprised of the airline and state-run airports, which would then be taken over by pension funds or for the airports themselves to recapitalise Croatia Airlines. However, this proposal has not been met with wide approval. Earlier this month the Association for the Management of Pension Funds said it is interested in the takeover of a potential holding company. On the other hand, Split Airport noted such a venture would be “too risky”.
Has Garuda submitted a bid?
ReplyDeleteGaruda just like Malaysian and Thai are in very deep financial trouble.
DeleteLet it be Aegean
ReplyDeleteIt would be great for OU if Aegean is really interested in them!
DeleteFrom a passenger's perspective, there would be nothing better than a complete takeover and integration of OU into all Aegean practices, including its loyalty scheme. Aegean routinely wins awards for its on-board product, and rightly so - compared to its European competition.
DeleteThere are also reasonable synergies that can be achieved between the two, especially when it comes to covering secondary destinations in Western Europe. If you're flying from a Greek island to a secondary city in Europe, you're half-expecting having to transfer twice anyway, and it's honestly more convenient transferring in ATH and ZAG than ATH and FRA. With well-aligned banks, they could cover more destinations like KRK, HAJ, BLL, GOT, LYS on their own metal and/or higher frequencies and/or year-round. Not to mention A3 is clearly exceptionally well versed in running seasonal operations!
Wow it would be amazing for Aegean to take over. Good fit.
ReplyDeleteI would be very interested to see what their plans would be and how it would work.
DeleteA3 is running flights from the coast during the winter to German destinations. OU couldn't make even that work and instead was parking its aircraft.
DeleteSo I would guess A3 would greatly expand flying from the coast which OU currently has surrendered.
Fingers crossed!
Actually A3 is not running those flights this year. Those charters are being operated by Turkish Freebird. But I agree with you that they would develop the coast. They have experience in Greece too.
DeleteWhy couldn't OU operate these flights?
DeleteAnd foreign airlines can base aircraft and crews in Croatia and operate them profitably?
SMFH!
Petar it was probably too early to bid for those contracts. ;)
DeleteI think this would have been a great combo. Aegean + Croatia Airlines. Could be a strong airline.
ReplyDeleteIf Air Nostrum took over, would it mean OU would leave Star Alliance?
ReplyDeleteProbably yes.
DeleteWould be a blessing if you ask me.
DeleteI have long believed either JP (when it still existed, after Malev went down) or OU (once Croatia joined the EU) would live much better lives in Oneworld than *A. It would fill a gaping hole in Central and South-Eastern Europe for Oneworld, while they were playing decidedly auxiliary roles to LH Group. There's nothing wrong with the latter, but it ignores a competitive advantage.
DeleteHowever, just because Air Nostrum bought OU, that doesn't mean OU would join Oneworld. Air Nostrum isn't a member of Oneworld (merely an affiliate, as long as it maintains the franchise agreement with Iberia), and has recently merged with Cityjet. While Cityjet is a separate brand, it operates flights on behalf of SK and SN of Star Alliance, as well as EI which exists outside alliances.
Note that even though EI is owned by IAG (owner of BA and IB), it is not a member of Oneworld. So it doesn't at all follow OU would suddenly join Oneworld because it was bought by a company, one of whose brands operates fights for an IAG-owned airline as a franchisee, when not even all IAG *legacy carriers* (setting aside LCCs Level and Vueling) are members of Oneworld. It makes it more likely, but it's not at all necessary that it would happen.
OU should leave *A only to if it is join another alliance.
DeleteOU will most likely never leave Star because Star own their frequent flyers.
DeleteBeing purchased by any carrier from the east, be it Greece, Middle East, Asia would have been a win because OU would no longer be a feeder for western European airlines. It would be fed passengers from the east and this would give it a much bigger chance to go long haul to the US.
ReplyDeleteAnon at 09:05
Delete+1000
Which airline would feed OU's long haul to US?
Delete^^^
DeleteOU itself.
A321NEO XLR is ideal. Also A3 would help them with feed.
ATH is too far from North America for the A321.
Ah yes that makes sense. Instead of flying directly to the United States from Athens (City of 3 million+, airport of 25 million) A3 would rather route their customers via ZAG thus completely defeating the purpose of nonstop longhaul flights.
DeleteThe A321NEO XLR can not fly from ATH to anywhere in North America with any meaningful payload year round.
DeleteBut from ZAG it can.
For A3 to fly to North America would need to buy a widebody.
Why would Aegean launch long-haul flights from ZAG when it can route its passengers via VIE, MUC, FRA...Even if they want to launch long-haul it makes more sense to get a widebody and fly it from ATH which has more demand than ZAG ever will.
DeleteYou do realize that A3 has revenues of over 1 billion dollars per year? Wide body airliners aren't some mythical creature that Aegean can't simply lease if they wanted to. If Aegean decides that they want to enter the long haul market they won't rely on Croatia Airlines to do it.
DeleteA3 instead of introducing a whole new family, crew group etc can just add A321 XLRs and fly ATH-ZAG-USA and Canada.
DeleteI understand that it is not the fault of OU for not flying to USofA but because Croatian CAA continuously fails FAA and ICAO audits...
DeleteWould agree for the majority of the above, but you just forget huge demand Far East to Croatia. Working together, and possibly starting long-haul, ATH could be start point for the Far East flights, and ZAG for North America flights, and funnel/shuttle passengers both ways in between. Not claiming will happen, but might be possibility
Deletepozdrav iz Rijeke
Delete+1000
Is demand really that huge from Croatia to the Far East? It might be strong in summer but it's quite modest or even tiny in winter. Meanwhile ATH manages to handle multiple DAILY widebody flights from both North America and Asia and even Africa now (ET from ADD on 787).
DeleteWhat competitive advantage would A3 have in forcing those people to fly via ZAG on a narrowbody when AC, DL, AA, UA, EK... offer nonstop flights from Athens? Even if someone has to connect why ZAG and not IST which is next door and which has around 8 daily flights some of them on A333/B777?
Air Nostrum is an interesting candidate. It's basically IAG.
ReplyDeleteNot really. They are not owned by IAG, they just operate a franchise for Iberia.
DeleteThey have an interesting set-up with Iberia. Flights operating in and out of MAD are planned by Iberia, which takes all the commercial risk, but wetlease the aircraft from Air Nostrum, just like the ACMI set-up OU has had for the CRJ1000. Only the Air Nostrum flights not touching MAD are operated at Air Nostrum's commercial risk, but marketed as an Iberia franchise.
DeleteMy thought is that the CRJ1000 is a good fit for OU. Airbus aircraft are too big. OU should reposition itself as a regional airline. During the summer, when demand is strong, other airlines will continue to bring tourists to Croatia. Better let them do that than have OU aircraft that are too big during the rest of the year.
Sounds like a fantasy.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds too good to be true but if A3 actually submits a binding offer it would be fantastic for OU.
DeleteGreat news!
ReplyDeleteDon't see this working out. No point in buying OU when it's easier to let them die. OU IS as good as dead.
ReplyDeleteWell it seems the airlines in question don't agree with you.
DeleteThey just showed interest, nothing more. We have to see if anything becomes of this. Imagine the horror when they have a look at the books. Ouch
DeleteThey probably have a pretty good idea about OU's financial situation.
DeleteFortunately (for them) and unfortunately for Croatian tax payers the Government with the 250 million kuna subsidy will cover most of the debts.
As far as I know, they already had a look at the OU's books, then expressed their interest. But, I agree, we still have to wait for their offer to be official.
DeleteWill they get the airports aswell or is it just the airline?
DeleteJust the airline.
DeleteJust the airline.
DeleteThe airports are saved from having to cover OU's losses.
The 'books' are not the problem. The problem like nearly every Croatian government owned company which has attracted investment interest is the conditions the Croatian government applies to the sale. For example, what they buyer can do with the management and number of employers.
DeleteIf either of these two carriers buys OU it will greatly increase competition in the region.
ReplyDeleteThat would be bad news for JU!
DeleteI think there's enough space for two Ex-Yu airlines doing just fine.
DeleteA3 have proven themselves in very hard times and their collected expertise in hard conditions be it economical collapse, hard competition against LCCs and even state owned airlines guarantees they will do their uttermost to deliver what they promise.
ReplyDeleteAegean is definitely into making Athens a major hub. I imagine they would use Croatian to feed their network, well, the focus would shift from Germany to Greece now, which is not too bad. This would shake Air Serbia and their domination in the Balkans.
ReplyDeleteOU would be allowed to develop it's European network from ZAG instead of feeding LH hubs.
DeleteThere will be no point sending its Europe and CiS countries pax to travel via ATH. That could be done directly from ZAG.
LH group wont be happy at all.
Petar
Delete+1000
Good news for ZAG, bad news for FRA, MUC and VIE.
I'm really curious how they would deal with domestic routes!
DeleteWell they would cut what's not profitable and if the government disagrees they will ask for subsidies. They have PSO in Greece too.
DeleteAegean is looking for growth opportunities outside Greece, in a 2 hour radius from Athens provided that they see some potential. That's what they said years ago. It seems like OU fits in.
ReplyDeleteLufthansa won't let Air Nostrum buy OU. If it is either of these it will be Aegean, with approval from Lufti.
ReplyDeleteLet's wait and see. At the moment is too early (not sarcastic) to say anything. I would definitely be very happy with Aegean. But then, what about consortium with airports? Is it spare solution or they gave up of that insanity. No matter, this is good news, just hope will happen asap. And I am also glad because of those here writing "nobody will ever buy OU" and similar, never giving one single argument for such claims.
ReplyDeleteI think they had to give up on consortium idea. It would be difficult to make it work in practice.
DeleteI do think A3 would be the best solution but I would have no issue if it were Air Nostrum either.
"nobody will ever buy OU" is true in the sense that nobody is going to give anything of value in exchange for the mismanaged corpse of Croatia Airlines. Only thing that could happen is that the government cleans the slate (takes on all debt) and gives the airline for free to someone like was the case with Adria and Jat Airways.
DeleteIs the deadline still January 1st 2020?
DeleteIf Aegan buyes OU then it is great news for Croatia and not because of the price paid by him. Subsidies will end and the development will start. Aegan has know-how and its business is similar (many smaller domestic airports, tourists, lcc competition).
DeleteAnonymous 26 December 2019 at 10:42
DeleteCompletely agree. A3 is an ideal fit. It just sounds too good to be true after so many disappointments from OU!
Well this is much more exciting than pension funds.
ReplyDeleteOr German turnaround experts if you ask me.
DeleteAgree, still too early to say anything, but I hope it happens. Who knows, maybe some other carriers will submit their bids for OU!
DeleteA3 will be a superb opportunity for OU's future.
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed it actually happens.
DeleteAegean would be an excellent choice. They have Q400s and Airbuses in their fleet, are very well versed at opening new markets, battling low cost competition and know how to organise leisure and seasonal travel.
ReplyDelete+1
DeleteAnd they both have A320 neos on order :)
DeleteAegean took delivery of its A320neo just a few days ago but it won't be in service until February when they get the second one. The plane is all covered up because it features their new livery :)
DeleteI am quite surprised that Turkish has not "expressed interest", just to be able to take a look into the paperwork of the competition.
ReplyDeleteTK can not purchase majority stake.
DeleteSo the saga continues
ReplyDeleteHopefully successfully concluded by June 2020 :)
DeleteCan OU survive until then?
Delete@Anonymous 09:49
Delete"Hrvatska Vlada nedavno je dokapitalizirala Croatia Airlines sa 250 milijuna kuna, a od toga joj je dosad isplaćeno 90 milijuna"
Source: https://novac.jutarnji.hr/makro-mikro/aegean-airlines-i-air-nostrum-dali-ponude-za-croatia-airlines/9786496/
Shouldn't it be concluded until January and, eventually, taken over by June 2020?
DeleteNo. By January the adivosrs have to give their proposals to the government. Ie how they should sell the company and how much. Then by June they have to sell it.
DeleteIt says it in the article:
“Consultants are currently looking into potential strategic partners and will decide on the best possible recapitalisation model by year’s end. Then we will launch a public tender. Based on the government’s decision, we will select a strategic partner by the end of June 2020. "
Aha, ok, thank you!
DeleteCroatia Airlines should have been dealt with prior to the country's accession to the European Union together with the concession of Zagreb Airport.
ReplyDeleteI really hope something comes out of this.
ReplyDeleteWhy is the offer being presented to management? Ofc management will not agree on the offer as they will be kicked out after the take-over, together with all their friends working for CA.
ReplyDeleteThat was my thought as well. The management hopes that the privatization either fails or that they are bough by pension funds who would not change the management structure.
DeleteTrue dat. The offer should have gone from the privatization consultant to the Ministry.
DeleteLeave the useless OU managers completely out of it.
Well in the entire chain it is OU that actually knows something about aviation, unlike government or privatization advisers. So I think it's smart they are included.
DeleteAnon at 10:04
DeleteLooking at OU's performance and strategic decisions over the last several years it is obvious that OU managers know as much about aviation as 4K did.
True dat Dejan!
Delete+1000000! If Aegean step in, the first move should be change of totally incompetent and inert "management" of OU
Delete"True dat. The offer should have gone from the privatization consultant to the Ministry.
DeleteLeave the useless OU managers completely out of it."
Who appoints managers in OU?
Ivan Misetic
DeleteWell finally some exciting and positive development for OU. I just hope it doesn't end in tears.
ReplyDeleteIt's now or never. Let's see...
ReplyDeleteThis line didn't work well for Skoro
DeleteLOL @Q400
DeleteI'm encouraged by the fact that the government said they are primarily looking for someone from the aviation sector.
ReplyDelete+1000
DeleteNo crooked investment funds looking to launder money.
Now all we need is for the non binding bids to become binding.
ReplyDeleteAll of you are commenting about Aegean. But what about Air Nostrum? What kind of partner could they be and what could we expect from them?
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I'm not for a small regional carrier taking over OU.
DeleteLOL last anon. Air Nostrum is twice the size of Croatia Airlines!
DeleteAir Nostrum
DeleteFleet: 49
Destinations: 58
Employees: 1500
Hardly a "small regional carrier" for ex-Yu standards.
What sort of aircraft do they operate, other than the CRJ1000s they lease to Croatia Airlines?
Delete11 ATR72-600
Delete7 CRJ200s
6 CRJ900s
25 CRJ1000s
Nice fleet. OU could use some of those.
DeleteThe CRJ fleet would need replacement. OU needs to modernize its fleet too.
DeleteThey could combine purchases but they would need a lot of money/loans.
How is Air Nostrum's financial situation?
Agree, nice choice of planes! Still, hope it will be Aegean!
DeleteIt's not really a nice choice of planes - CRJs are outdated and energy-inefficient. OUs current fleet structure makes a lot more sense. A CRJ900 uses ~60% more fuel per seat-kilometer than an A320neo, so operating the A320neo doubles the capacity while only increasing the fuel cost by ~23% (and yes, you have to fill those seats with people who want to fly there, but the difference in the principal variable cost centre is ridiculous). And it is widely acknowledged that the current oil prices are much closer to the medium-term floor than ceiling, so any long term plans with CRJs are suspect. By all means, the ones that are around should be utilised, but planning for a CRJ-based future is signing your own death warrant. Not to mention they are less comfortable for passengers than even ATRs are, with same-width or even slightly narrower seats and a more sharply curving wall that additionally reduces shoulder-width for the window-side passenger.
DeleteHopefully an acquisition by A3 would allow the joint company to combine their operations to the point where all longer routes can be operated by Airbus jets (no more flying on a Dash ZAG-CPH), while short regional/domestic routes with lower demand can be operated by similarly efficient turboprops.
Anonymous 26 December 2019 at 11:13
Delete+1000
Agree with all your points!
Nice explanation, Anon 11:13! Hope it will work for OU this time!
DeleteWhat could be the sale price?
ReplyDeleteI doubt much, if any.
DeleteIt is more likely that the government would have to pay them, or take care of any outstanding debt.
Delete1 EUR ... if lucky.
DeleteIn 2018, Air Nostrum and CityJet said they would merge (stay as separate brands). Has this happened yet?
ReplyDeleteYes it's in the final phases. This summer the EU competition regulator approved it.
DeleteBravo Hrvatska!
ReplyDeleteDoes Aegean airlines knows about that??!!! Because nothing is mentioned in the regular press or the financial press of Greece! I wonder what was the source of those news and what is the beneficial for Aegean?... Sarajevo and Mostar routes? Personally I don't think it will happen.
ReplyDeleteMy guess is that it went something like this:
DeleteHR government: Kalimera Aegean, would you consider investing in our thriving national carrier with a lot of potential? We could send you a nice Power Point presentation!
*awkward silence*
Aegean: ....sure?
HR Government issues a press release informing how smart it is because it got a successful Greek airline to buy OU thus saving Croatian aviation from total catastrophe.
Hahahaha!
DeleteNice one @ANONYMOUS 11:48. I'm from Greece and an aviation enthusiast like all of you here, I visit a lot of aviation blogs and EX YU AVIATION is one of the best, my congratulations to the ADMIN! Oh.. and forgot the anonymous above. I was wondering about this because the only thing that the press here wrights is that Aegean will focus to their reorganization schedule due to the upcoming deliveries in the next four years of the minimum 46 a320/321neo,and probably another 16 from lessors. Nothing at all for this potential buying arrangement with Croatia airlines.
DeleteJust flew with Air Nostrum to LEN, Spain. Their Bombardier was in impeccable state. Quiet and smooth. Flight was on time and crew very friendly.
ReplyDeleteIt's basically IB...
I'm not sure I understand the point of any of those airlines buying OU. Air Nostrum could just be a way of getting OU into the IAG group which could possibly make sense but I don't see at all how it makes sense for A3. It would dilute their ATH hub and is outside their core Greek market. They could be trying to exploit Croatian O/D market however I think that there are more profitable places to expand first.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention that Aegean wouldn't want to risk their partnership with LH Group as a ZAG hub would compete with VIE where OS struggles both from MUC being close and from all the LCCs there.
DeleteReminder: Air Nostrum is not owned by IAG, but is an independent company that operates regional flights for Iberia under a franchise agreement. They are in the final stages of a merger with Cityjet, who operates flights for SAS, Brussels Airlines and Aer Lingus.
DeleteMaybe a first step would be to have year-round flights from ATH to ZAG?
ReplyDeleteSeems this whole takeover fantasy was dreamed up by some amateur analyst. Aegean already looked at Croatia Airlines in 2015 and walked away. Croatia Airlines didn't get any better since then.
ReplyDeleteGovernment would have to clear the debt and that comes with strings attached. They want to retain at least one third of ownership, they want to keep the name and worst of all, they want control. No private company wants to allow that. If they could merge into and rebrand as Aegean to streamline operations, and have complete autonomy from government/party influence, then we should take this more seriously.
They could rebrand OU as Adriatic then they could be the two seas airline. :D
DeleteIt would be great for OU to find some good strategic partner - Aegean could be the one. Re. long haul, that won't gonna happen for OU, probably ever. It just don't make any sense for a small regional airline to have a long haul. For JU, JFK is just a load that they have to bear for political reasons, otherwise, they could invest the money they are loosing in building much more profitable regional network.
ReplyDeleteWell, buddy, maybe you see it other way, but in my opinion, whole investment story is meant precisely to reshape OU from small regional to bigger airline, knowing that smaller companies can disappear much easier than bigger ones. That's why Air Serbia is growing. That's why Aegean is growing. And I really hope they will invest in OU, make it bigger player, and eventually make it able to start long-haul. Not tomorrow, of course, but again in my opinion, synergy could do miracles here, in combination with touristic and immigration potentials of both markets.
DeleteAegean just entered the unbinding stage of the process to follow what will happen. They will most probably not invest as this acquisition does not help in its strategy.
ReplyDeleteAir Nostrum is probably looking for expanding. As feeder for Iberia they could do the same for LH.
I am hoping it to be Air Nostrum. Oneworld is becoming a more prestigious alliance. Soon Royal Air Maroc will join too and their existence in Africa is crucial.
ReplyDeleteZAG will also be connected more efficiently to Barajas Airport, which has an outstanding network to Latin America. OU can then code share with IB on key routes such as EZE, MEX, MVD, GIG, SCL + access to CMN which is becoming a true hub of Africa.
A3 has a more limited market.
Air Nostrum buying OU does not have to change its Star Alliance membership at all. I would find it unlikely that Air Nostrum would have any ambitions to have OU switch to oneworld, even if they would have any influence over that.
DeleteOut of curiosity: why is Africa and South America important to OU? Business ties with Croatia or inbound tourists?
DeleteDon't forget Aegean already failed in SKG and LCA in the past and there we are talking about same people, same mentality.
ReplyDeleteSorry my friend but who told you that Aegean is dying to take over Croatia airlines?!!! Has anybody asked them or all this came out of the head of an amateur executive of Croatia airlines management??!!!
DeleteAegean from SKG flies to 33 destinations and in LCA is the biggest carrier by far.
DeleteSo what are you talking about?
Aegean had a much larger network in LCA and eventually most destinations were dropped (London, Paris, Moscow, Kiev...) as they couldn't keep up. Same thing with SKG, this is their second attempt in Thessaloniki, let's see how successful they will be, their costs are far from being low and they even admitted this last year.
DeleteAs for LCA, I am sure Wizz Air will overtake them in terms of passenger numbers soon. They fly to Cyprus from 18 destinations the whole year.
Anon 21:01, did you ask Aegean? No need for guessing, we still need some facts!
DeleteThe fact is that nothing has been written in Aegean airlines website nor the media, television or newspapers in Greece! I am Greek living in Greece and nothing is mentioned about this agreement. I don't think it's such a big secret nor the media in Croatia are more liberal than Greek media and keep it a secret from them.
DeleteIt is official:
Delete"Greece's Aegean Airlines Makes Non-Binding Bid for Croatia Airlines"
https://money.usnews.com/investing/news/articles/2019-12-27/greeces-aegean-airlines-makes-non-binding-bid-for-croatia-airlines
Thank you my friend I've just read it at the webside of the Greek financial newspaper "naftemporiki". It's one of the most reliable financial newspaper in my country.
DeleteAgean almost sounds too good to be true yet it does make sense, espesially given that it is in the process of expansion.
ReplyDeleteAt any rate, Agean is more than capable of fulfilling all the potential of the Croatian market and even the adjacent Slovenian and Bosnian markets.
Here's hoping it ends up being them!
+1000
DeleteAustrian and Italian markets too, all from the new megahub at ZAG. lol
DeleteYeah I'm aware that people of the balkans often suffer from delusions of grandeur, but no need for any "mega hubs". Croatia alone has 8 functional airports and the currently underserved Bosnia and Slovenia, several more. It fits into the Agean strategy.
DeleteAegean airlines announced officially to the Greek stock market that has indeed submitted a non binding offer to the privatization consultants of OU.
ReplyDeleteAnd that over the next months it will follow the process of privatization that the Croatian government has for OU.
This is getting really interesting.
DeleteSo there are serious plans from A3 side.
It is really the best European regional carrier.
Remember how OA was before A3? They have a smart management and know exactly what they're doing.
Sounds serious! Last attempt to save OU, as far as I read, Aegean wants to buy 70%!
Delete