United-Avianca deal becomes target of lawsuit by Kingsland

AviancaÕs chairman and controlling shareholder, German Efromovich, is forcing the Colombian airline into a potential deal with United that will hurt minority investors, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. Kingsland Holdings, the second-biggest shareholder in Avianca, is suing Avianca, Efromovich and United, saying they secretly negotiated an US$800m loan and strategic partnership. Efromovich chose the United deal for his personal benefit over offers from two other major international airlines that assigned a higher value to Avianca, Kingsland said. Those offers were made after AviancaÕs board conducted a search for a partner to address its liquidity needs, according to the suit.<br/>