German investor Woehrl submits E500m takeover of Air Berlin

German aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl late Sunday said a company controlled by his INTRO Group had submitted a E500m offer to buy insolvent Air Berlin. Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy protection in August, spurring interest from several buyers seeking to snap up about 140 leased aircraft and valuable take-off and landing slots in Germany. Woehrl, who bought German airline Deutsche BA from British Airways for a nominal 1 euro in 2003, said Air Berlin's insolvency administrator had been shown a letter of credit for E50m, to guarantee an initial payment for his bid. The full offer was for E500m, INTRO Verwaltungs said. "It is a bid for the whole of Air Berlin," Woehrl's INTRO-Verwaltungs said Sunday, adding that it planned to pay a further E450m in instalments. <br/>