LHA.DE - Deutsche Lufthansa AG
Chart Events
Performance Outlook
- Short Term2W - 6W
- Mid Term6W - 9M
- Long Term9M+
| Previous Close | 8.83 |
| Open | 8.94 |
| Bid | 8.97 x 948200 |
| Ask | 8.98 x 1900800 |
| Day's Range | 8.83 - 9.07 |
| 52 Week Range | 7.02 - 17.95 |
| Volume | 4,141,739 |
| Avg. Volume | 11,383,689 |
| Market Cap | 4.343B |
| Beta (5Y Monthly) | 1.22 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | N/A |
| EPS (TTM) | -1.19 |
| Earnings Date | Aug 06, 2020 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | N/A (N/A) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | May 08, 2019 |
| 1y Target Est | N/A |
BloombergFlag Carriers Will Still Struggle to Compete With Low Cost Carriers: McMahon
Jun.29 -- Goodbody Stockbrockers Aviation Analyst Nuala McMahon spoke about the challenges ahead for flag carrier airlines, such as Lufthansa, without the cost base to compete with low-cost carriers such as easyJet. She spoke to "Bloomberg Markets: European Open," on June 25th, ahead of Lufthansa's Extraordinary General Meeting, where shareholders approved a bailout package from the German government to keep the airline afloat.
- Financial Times
Lufthansa to link Covid-19 tests with tickets in effort to avoid quarantine
Lufthansa is to offer passengers Covid-19 tests at Frankfurt airport that provide results within hours and can be linked to individual tickets in an effort to allow travellers to avoid quarantine. The airline has joined forces with German company Centogene, which opened a walk-in testing centre at the airport on Monday that it said would act as a “blueprint to opening international borders”. Passengers coming through the hub will be able to pay for a test that provides a result within two to three hours, and that will soon be integrated with Lufthansa boarding passes.
- Skift
Google Is Providing Search Data to Air France, Lufthansa, Other Airlines Looking to Decide Which Routes to Restart
Google is rolling out a new tool that provides airline partners with search data that carriers are using to help decide which routes to restart and when. Unlike existing data from Google for airlines about their own performance across Google products, the newly provided data provides a market-wide view of consumer intent based on flight […]
- Reuters
Germany opens part of bailout fund to Lufthansa now - Der Spiegel
The German government is making part of its 9 billion euro ($10.10 billion) bailout fund available to Lufthansa immediately after shareholders backed the rescue plan on Thursday, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Friday. Without citing its sources, the magazine said the economy ministry had agreed with state-backed bank KfW that a 3 billion euro loan can be tapped immediately. A Lufthansa spokesman said the money from the KfW credit should flow as soon as possible.
- Reuters
MORNING BID-Tug of war
Encouraging economic data provides the push for further stock market gains, surging coronavirus infections the pull on sentiment. Asian stocks eked out slight gains after the U.S. set a record for a one-day increase in coronavirus cases. European shares are opening higher.
- Bloomberg
Lufthansa Dodges Insolvency After Shareholders Back Bailout
(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG avoided the looming risk of insolvency after shareholders approved a 9 billion-euro ($10 billion) bailout from the German government, securing the survival of Europe’s largest airline after weeks of drama over the rescue package.Fighting for survival after the coronavirus pandemic punctured a decades-long aviation boom, Lufthansa last month reached a deal with the German government for a package of loans and credit guarantees.The bailout, which features the sale of a heavily discounted 20% stake to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government, hung in the balance until Lufthansa’s biggest shareholder, billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele, publicly backed it hours before the crunch vote.The approval came just ahead of news Air France-KLM received 3.4 billion euros in aid from the Netherlands, adding to a 7 billion-euro package the group received from France last month.Lufthansa shares swung between gains and losses in pre-market trading on Tradegate. Lufthansa shares rose 7.1% to 9.59 euros on Thursday, paring its decline for the year to 42% and valuing the company at 4.6 billion euros. Lufthansa plans to execute the sale of shares to Germany for 2.56 euros apiece, nearly one fourth the current market price, in the coming days to unlock the financing. The airline warned that insolvency threatened soon if the package wasn’t cleared by shareholders.Another step forward came earlier Thursday, when European Union regulators approved the bulk of the package in exchange for Lufthansa making some slots available at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs.Profit MotiveThe successful shareholder vote not only hands Lufthansa a lifeline but also saves Merkel’s government from a damaging defeat as it seeks to revive the country’s export-led economy.In the process, Germany reasserted itself into the heart of a company that was privatized with fanfare two decades ago and links firms like Siemens AG and Volkswagen AG with markets around the world.“This is very, very good news for the company, the employees and German business,” said Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, a key figure in negotiating the bailout. “Our engagement is temporary. When the company is fit again, the state will sell its stake -- hopefully with a small profit.”The approval of the German package opens the door for further aid already promised by Austria and Switzerland for operations in those countries. Belgium is also discussing funding.Even with the state aid, Lufthansa will need deep restructuring to recover from the pandemic, which all but halted travel around the world. Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr has predicted that the airline will face years of depressed demand. The company expects its fleet to be 100 aircraft smaller after the crisis, implying the loss of over 10,000 jobs.Securing the bailout allows Lufthansa’s management to turn attention to negotiating concessions with the company’s powerful labor unions.The company reached a deal late Wednesday with cabin crew that would save around 500 million euros through 2023. In return, Lufthansa pledged not to make redundancies for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. A similar deal with pilots is close, Spohr said at the meeting.The bailout offers the chance for the airline to rebuild its business, and “we can do it,” Kley said.(Updates with new lede, KLM line)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
PRESS DIGEST-British Business - June 26
The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. - Huawei has won planning permission to build a new research hub in Cambridgeshire and announced it will double its initial investment to 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion). - The industrial dispute between Royal Mail and unions over restructuring has intensified after the struggling postal company outlined plans to axe about 2,000 jobs this financial year.
- Reuters
Germany's Scholz greets shareholder approval for Lufthansa rescue
German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz welcomed shareholders' backing on Thursday for a 9 billion euro ($10 billion) government bailout of airline Lufthansa, saying it gave the firm time to recover. The investment must not burden taxpayers, said Scholz, adding the state's involvement was only for a limited time and when the carrier was fit again, it would sell the stake, hopefully at a small profit.
- Reuters
Lufthansa investors back $10 billion German government rescue
Lufthansa shareholders on Thursday backed a 9 billion euro ($10 billion) government bailout, securing the future of Germany's flagship airline after it was brought to the brink of collapse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan, backed by 98% of the shareholder capital that cast a vote at the online meeting, will see Berlin take a 20% stake in Lufthansa and two board seats. Shares in the company, which employs around 138,000 people, closed 7.1% higher, having risen strongly earlier after top shareholder Heinz Hermann Thiele dropped objections to the deal.
- Bloomberg
European Stocks Climb Led by Cyclicals on New ECB Facility
(Bloomberg) -- European stocks climbed, with cyclicals in the lead after the European Central Bank said it’s setting up a new liquidity facility for central banks outside the euro area.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.7% at the close of trading. Carmakers, financial services and banks led gains, while travel shares were the worst performers. The benchmark was down 1.3% earlier on worries about rising coronavirus cases in countries including the U.S. and Australia.Deutsche Lufthansa AG jumped 7.1% after the airline’s biggest stockholder said he’d vote in favor of a 9 billion-euro ($10 billion) government bailout. Wirecard AG slumped 71% after filing for insolvency following an accounting scandal. The stock hasn’t gone to zero due to technical reasons, but the equity is “worthless,” Mirabaud Securities analyst Neil Campling said.Stocks are on a bumpy path after surging to a three-month high in early June, as optimism about stimulus measures and economic recovery war with concern about rising coronavirus cases. The International Monetary Fund has projected a deeper recession and slower recovery for the global economy than it anticipated two months ago.“If market flicks a switch from risk-off to risk-on on an ECB headline then what does that tell one? The bears have a very weak hand and staying power and the fear of missing out is ever present, real and growing as economies open,” said Manish Singh, chief investment officer at Crossbridge Capital. “Europe is in much better state on dealing with Covid, and summer spending by consumers is about to start.”The ECB said its new facility will “provide precautionary euro repo lines to central banks outside the euro area” in response to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. In addition, Germany’s constitutional court rejected a separate challenge against the ECB’s 2015 Expanded Asset Purchase Program as inadmissible.Among other notable movers, German chemicals giant Bayer AG dropped 2.9% after initially gaining upon reaching a long-awaited settlement for multiple lawsuits. The deal still leaves open the potential for more litigation.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Ryanair complains to EU antitrust watchdog about alleged Lufthansa price-fixing
Ryanair has filed a complaint to EU antitrust regulators about alleged talks between Lufthansa's Italian unit Air Dolomiti and three Italian airlines to fix prices, the chief legal officer of Europe's biggest budget airline said on Thursday. The complaint also cites alleged price fixing in Austria involving Lufthansa's local unit Austrian Airlines. "I can confirm that the price fixing cartel complaint was filed with the European Commission," Ryanair's Juliusz Gomorek told reporters.
- Bloomberg
Lufthansa’s Biggest Investor to Back Government Bailout Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s biggest stockholder publicly backed a 9 billion-euro ($10 billion) government bailout, giving the rescue plan a major shot of momentum and boosting the airline’s shares and bonds just before a crunch vote.With Heinz Hermann Thiele declaring support after days of frenzied speculation about his intentions, the state rescue appears likely to secure the two-thirds backing required at Thursday’s special shareholders meeting. The German billionaire who had earlier criticized the conditions held the votes to single-handedly stop the deal and plunge Europe’s largest airline into turmoil.A failure of the landmark bailout, which featured the state buying a heavily discounted 20% stake in the airline, would also have been a serious blow to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s efforts to take a more activist approach to managing Germany’s economy.Thiele eased those concerns by saying he “will vote in favor” of the plan at the meeting, according to an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published on its website late Wednesday.Because only 39.3% of shareholders registered for the online meeting, Thiele’s 15.5% stake translates into about 40% of the votes. Lufthansa needs to win about half of the rest for the share sale to pass. It’s only part of the larger bailout package that also includes state loans and a so-called silent participation.Approval of the deal would bring the curtain down on weeks of high-stakes drama that buffeted Lufthansa’s stock and bonds and forced it to examine insolvency. It would also thrust the state back into the heart of a company that was privatized with fanfare two decades ago.Lufthansa shares jumped as much as 21% Thursday in early Frankfurt trading, the biggest intraday rise since March 13. They were up 9.9% at 9.85 euros at 4:03 p.m., valuing the company at 4.7 billion euros.The news of Thiele’s support also triggered a sharp rally in Lufthansa debt, with the company’s euro bonds maturing in 2024 jumping the most on record to trade as high as 90.2 cents on the euro. The airline’s bonds have been under pressure since March and a sell-off accelerated last month when the company lost its investment-grade rating at S&P.“We can’t make it through this year on our own,” Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr said, referring to the company’s dwindling cash reserves. “We have prepared for insolvency if it’s required” but want to do everything possible to avoid that scenario.The company will need deep restructuring to recover, but the rescue offers the opportunity to renew its fleet and rebuild to recover from the fallout from the pandemic.The financing needs were brought into focus, with the airline facing 1 billion euros in requests to reimburse unused flight tickets that the company plans to pay out over the next two months, the airline said during the meeting.Lufthansa will address shareholders’ questions in a process could take several hours before the vote proceeds and the results are released later in the afternoon.In another step forward the deal, Lufthansa on Thursday won European Union approval for a 6 billion-euro recapitalization plan, the bulk of the financing in the rescue plan. To ease competition concerns, the airline has committed to make slots available at its Frankfurt and Munich hubs.Securing a state holding would be a victory for Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, pleasing his Social Democratic allies and bolstering his ambitions to run for chancellor next year. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier would notch a landmark deal that’s meant to serve as a model for the government’s plan to act more as a state capitalist.‘Lesser Evil’Andreas Laemmel, a member of the Bundestag’s economy and energy committee for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bloc, said the negotiations with Lufthansa had served as a “learning process” for the government which will inform talks on possible future bailouts for other companies.“The aid package will protect the value of the shares and help the company be successful again,” Laemmel said Thursday in an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio. “That’s the best contribution that the government can make, giving shareholders security.”Read more:One Man Can Save Lufthansa’s Bailout or Unleash BedlamLufthansa Closes German Charter Carrier With Loss of 1,200 JobsGermany Dares Lufthansa’s Top Shareholder to Scuttle BailoutLufthansa’s Fate Will Affect German Savers Holding Its DebtUnions, many investors and proxy advisory firms recommend shareholders back the deal. While stockholders will see their holdings diluted, it’s not clear what the rationale for blocking the package would be without a major investor proposing an alternative.“A government-orchestrated bailout is better than insolvency,” said Patrick Schuchter of Union Investment, holder of a 0.12% stake. He plans to vote for the rescue, despite the drawbacks for shareholders. “Investors need to choose the lesser evil or sell their shares.”Securing the bailout would allow Lufthansa’s management to turn attention to negotiating restructuring packages with the company’s powerful labor unions. The airline late Wednesday reached a deal with its cabin crew union that would save around 500 million euros through 2023. In return, Lufthansa pledged not to make redundancies for the duration of the coronavirus crisis.Spohr said that the company is nearing a similar deal with pilots.Chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley called the shareholders meeting “historic” and on par with the company’s foundation. He said the government bailout offers the chance to rebuild its business, saying: “We can do it.”(Updates with additional company comments)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
Reuters VideosLufthansa stock soars as billionaire OKs bailout
Lufthansa stock soared Thursday (June 25). That after investor Heinz Hermann Thiele dropped his objections to a state bailout. The billionaire investor owns just over 15% of the firm’s stock. Now he says he won’t veto the $10 billion rescue deal. That will see the state take a 20% stake and board seats, diluting existing shareholdings. Thiele’s comments come despite deadlock in talks with the government Monday (June 22). Finance Minister Olaf Scholz refused to countenance changes to the plan, which he said was carefully drafted to secure EU approval. That green light duly came on Thursday. Brussels says it will approve the deal, but wants dividends and share buybacks banned until state support is paid back. Germany will also have to come up with a restructuring plan for the airline if it has not sold off its stake within six years. Now approval of the deal by shareholders will ease fears that Lufthansa might have to seek protection from creditors. Overnight the firm also struck a deal with flight attendants on cost savings totalling over 500 million euros. Lufthansa stock soared as much as 27% in early trade Thursday, before settling back around 15% higher.
- MarketWatch
European stocks inch higher after previous day’s pounding; Wirecard collapses
European stocks flipped between losses and gains on Thursday, showing the nervousness around coronavirus and trade tensions lingered after the heavy selling from the previous day.
- Reuters
Germany welcomes EU green light for Lufthansa bailout
Germany's economy and finance ministers on Thursday welcomed the approval by the European Union for a government bailout package for Lufthansa and urged shareholders to approve the deal at a meeting later in the day. "This concerns more than a hundred thousand jobs and Germany's position in world markets," Economy Minister Peter Almaier said.
- MarketWatch
European stocks edge lower at the open; Lufthansa surges, easyJet slumps
European stocks opened lower on Thursday, though the selling wasn't as heavy as the previous session. The Stoxx Europe 600 weakened 0.3%, after the 2.8% pounding on Wednesday on coronavirus spread as well as tariff concerns. Lufthansa surged nearly 14% on news its top shareholder will vote in favor of a bailout package, while easyJet dropped 6% after selling £419 million of discounted shares.
BloombergLufthansa’s Top Investor Backs $10 Billion Bailout Ahead of Vote
Jun.25 -- Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s biggest shareholder, billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele, said he would support a $10 billion government bailout plan. Bloomberg’s Benedikt Kammel reports on "Bloomberg Markets: European Open."
- Reuters
Lufthansa soars after top shareholder backs bailout
Lufthansa <LHAG.DE> shares jumped as much as 20% on Thursday after its top shareholder dropped his objections to a 9 billion euro ($10 billion) government bailout for the German airline brought to the brink of collapse by the COVID-19 pandemic. "I will vote for the proposal," billionaire investor Heinz Hermann Thiele, who recently increased his stake in Lufthansa to 15.5%, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine daily on Wednesday. Thiele's backing will come as a relief to Chancellor Angela Merkel, who could ill afford another high-profile business collapse following the failure of payments firm Wirecard.
- Financial Times
Lufthansa shareholders back €9bn bailout package
Lufthansa’s shareholders have voted through a €9bn bailout package that gives the German government a stake in the group almost a quarter of a century after it was first privatised. The deal, which allows Berlin to raise its holding to a blocking minority in the event of a hostile takeover bid, had been in jeopardy after the airline’s largest investor, billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele, indicated that he wanted to reopen negotiations with Angela Merkel’s administration.
- Moody's
Brussels Airport Company NV/SA -- Moody's affirms Brussels Airport's Baa1 ratings, outlook remains negative
Moody's Investors Service, ("Moody's") today affirmed Brussels Airport Company NV/SA ("BAC")'s Baa1 senior secured rating and the (P)Baa1 long-term senior secured rating for the company's Euro Medium Term Note programme. A full list of affected ratings is provided towards the end of this press release. The affirmation of BAC's ratings reflects Moody's expectations that a gradual recovery in passenger traffic together with the company's cost cutting efforts will support a return to credit metrics commensurate with a Baa1 rating by 2022.
- Reuters
Exclusive: Lufthansa draws up 'Plan B' to avoid insolvency - source
Lufthansa has drawn up a plan to avoid insolvency should a shareholder vote on Thursday fail to approve a $10 billion government bailout, a company source told Reuters on Wednesday. The German government could still get a 20% stake, as originally envisaged. Germany's flagship airline has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic and what promises to be a protracted travel slump, and has sought a state rescue to avoid insolvency.
- Financial Times
Lufthansa’s biggest shareholder gives last-minute support to rescue
Lufthansa’s €9bn bailout from Berlin is set to be approved by shareholders, after its largest investor revealed he would vote for the rescue package at an extraordinary meeting on Thursday, despite his misgivings. Billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele, who has been steadily building his stake in the group since the middle of March and now owns more than 15.5 per cent of Lufthansa, had previously signalled that he would seek to renegotiate the deal with the German government. The former tank commander, who made his fortune at brakes-maker Knorr-Bremse, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung last week he was unhappy with the proposal by Angela Merkel’s administration, which involves the government taking a 20 per cent stake in the airline, almost a quarter of a century after it was first privatised.
- Reuters
Lufthansa says it has not yet reached agreement with unions on crisis package
Lufthansa has not yet reached an agreement with unions on a package to cut staff costs, it said on Tuesday, adding to the pressure on the German airline before a crunch shareholder vote on a 9 billion euro bailout plan to be held on Thursday. Germany's flagship carrier, hit hard by the coronavirus-induced travel slump, said talks with pilot union VC and cabin crew union UFO would continue ahead of the meeting in an effort to secure an agreement and pave the way for the state to take a 20% stake in the airline. The bailout is also being complicated by shareholder Heinz Thiele, who owns a 15.5% stake and says the state, which would take two seats on the supervisory board, would have too much power.
- Bloomberg
European Stocks Retreat After Week of Gains on Fresh Virus Woes
(Bloomberg) -- European equities dropped at the start of the week on concerns about the spreading of new coronavirus infections.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.8% as telecoms, food and oil sectors retreated. Carnival Plc tumbled 10% after major cruise lines agreed to suspend voyages from U.S. ports until Sept. 15. Wirecard AG lost 44% after saying the missing 1.9 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of cash on its balance sheet probably doesn’t exist. Deutsche Lufthansa AG fell 3.2% after the company said its bailout plan is at risk.European equities rallied last week on the optimism of strong stimulus measures and as China’s Beijing Covid-19 outbreak appeared to fade. However, concerns persist about a possible second wave of coronavirus infections, with California reporting record new cases and Florida infections jumping more than the weekly average. Germany’s infection rate rose for a third day with outbreaks at a meat plant and housing complexes adding to the tally“With the upcoming reporting season, continuing geopolitical and trade uncertainties, the ongoing corona crisis and the U.S. presidential election due in early November, there are a lot of stumbling blocks ahead,” said Ulrich Urbahn, head of multi-asset strategy and research at Joh Berenberg Goss. “At the same time, the market is supported by the fact that many bears remain underinvested in equities, in addition to the support from central banks.”Berenberg’s multi-asset team slightly reduced its overweight in equities at the start of June and has hedges in gold and U.S. Treasuries.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Germany Dares Lufthansa’s Billionaire Top Shareholder to Scuttle Bailout
(Bloomberg) -- Germany stood by its 9 billion-euro ($10 billion) bailout plan for Deutsche Lufthansa AG, daring the airline’s disgruntled top shareholder to shoot it down at a pivotal vote this week.With Lufthansa fighting for survival after the coronavirus outbreak punctured a decades-long global travel boom, billionaire Heinz-Hermann Thiele is threatening to block the rescue plan -- which would dilute his 15.5% holding and influence -- at a shareholder meeting scheduled for Thursday.But with the government signaling it’s unwilling to alter the package, the onus is on the 79-year-old investor to decide whether to support a deal he considers faulty or potentially trigger its rejection. The alternative would lead Lufthansa into uncharted waters, forced to reconfigure its survival plan with cash reserves running low and the threat of insolvency looming.The government stands firm on the agreed package, which will be the basis for the shareholder vote, German economy ministry spokesman Korbinian Wagner said Monday. The German government explained the terms of the rescue to Thiele in a meeting attended by Lufthansa Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr and the two ministers who brokered the bailout, according to a state official. The parties didn’t discuss what would happen if the package wasn’t approved by shareholders, the official said.German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said the government had a “friendly” discussion with Thiele and Lufthansa, adding the deal is “good and balanced”.Lufthansa shares traded 3.2% lower at the close in Frankfurt, after tumbling as much as 9% earlier in the day. Its bonds sank to three-month low earlier Monday.“We face a fateful week for our Lufthansa,” Spohr said Sunday in a letter to employees seen by Bloomberg, warning that it’s not at all certain the bailout package will gain approval at the extraordinary general meeting.The carrier’s chances of securing backing for the proposal suffered a blow after only 38% of shareholders registered to vote by a deadline over the weekend.That means Lufthansa’s management must secure two-thirds of votes to win the day, rather than a simple majority. That also means Thiele effectively has a blocking minority, assuming he registered, which the airline declined to confirm.Germany’s third-richest man has expressed dissatisfaction with the rescue, saying the state is profiteering.State StakeTerms of the package of loans and equity investment call for Lufthansa to issue a 20% stake to the government in Berlin at the nominal price of 2.56 euros per share, a change that needs to be approved at the online EGM.“The federal government should confine itself to the financial aid packages, which are fundamentally very positive, and should not grow into the role of a return-oriented investor,” Thiele told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper last week.It was unlikely that the government would give ground before the vote, as Scholz articulated earlier, having rejected other scenarios as unacceptable or impossible to deliver in time to meet Lufthansa’s cash requirements, one of the people said.Analysts at Citibank Inc. see three scenarios for Lufthansa this week.One would see the vote pass with Thiele’s support. The second envisages a failure of the deal, with the government then withdrawing its offer of a 20% stake, a relatively minor part of the deal in terms of the cash it would give to the carrier. The third scenario would see Thiele scupper the deal and then expand his holding as the share price fell.Lufthansa on Monday fell out of Germany’s bluechip DAX index after its 40% share-price decline this year. The decision to remove the airline was taken by Deutsche Boerse earlier this month.Monday also marks Lufthansa’s self-imposed deadline for an agreement with unions on as many as 22,000 job cuts, though the sides may agree to a limited cost-reduction package to buy time as talks continue.The group’s board is separately due to meet with Brussels Airlines, having threatened to put the unit into bankruptcy or up for sale if it fails to secure a bailout from Belgium to match rescues by the Swiss and Austrian governments. It wasn’t clear if the meeting would go ahead given the circumstances.‘Balanced Offer’Whether Thiele, a former army tank commander, is prepared to put his 750 million-euro stake at risk isn’t clear. Economy Minister Peter Altmaier has said previously that the airline will be saved at any cost -- perhaps giving the investor hope that Germany would ultimately revisit the basis of the bailout if left with no other choice.Spohr said in his letter that Lufthansa is preparing for all scenarios, including ways to avoid grounding its jets and continuing communications with the German government should the vote be lost.“The aim of the board, obviously, is to avoid an insolvency and all the consequences that would bring,” he said.(Updates with share price in sixth paragraph, adds Scholz comment)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
