Lufthansa is seeking shareholder approval to raise up to E2.4b, funds that could lower but not be enough to avoid the need for a government orchestrated bailout the carrier is facing to get through the coronavirus crisis. The airline is seeking to issue 176m new shares, or 36% of its existing capital, it said in an invite to the annual general meeting on May 5. That offer, which includes subscription rights, would be valued at about E1.5b at current market prices. The company is also seeking permission to raise about 420m in convertible bonds, based on current prices, and a similar amount of equity in a separate capital hike of about 10%. Issuing the securities would give Lufthansa some flexibility as it contends with a liquidity crunch that’s hit all airlines worldwide. Yet the fundraising measures would come amid a market rout that’s unsettling investors, potentially leading to lower prices and smaller amounts raised. A spokesman for Lufthansa said the move was routine and could have happened regardless of the coronavirus crisis. Lufthansa sought a similar amount last year, he said.<br/>
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The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is putting a strain on executive succession plans, with some companies resorting to unusual arrangements to fill key vacancies. A case in point: Lufthansa. The airline group on Wednesday reassigned various finance tasks to its CE, board members and senior managers following the sudden departure of CFO Ulrik Svensson on Monday. Svensson, who left Lufthansa citing health reasons, had been at the helm since January 2017. He announced his intention to step down on Saturday and left two days later. Companies typically seek to fill such vacancies quickly. But Lufthansa thought it would be better to wait. “This is not the right moment to appoint a new chief financial officer,” Lufthansa Chairman Karl-Ludwig Kley said Wednesday. Kley said the new structure relying on existing executives and directors would set a course to overcome the deep crisis which has resulted in the company shuttering its low-cost Germanwings airline, decommissioning aircraft and forecasting weak demand for air travel for years.<br/>
Ryanair unit Lauda Thursday urged the Austrian government not to grant Lufthansa’s subsidiary Austrian Airlines state aid to help weather the coronavirus outbreak, saying Austrian taxpayers should not subsidise a German company. Lauda’s move demonstrates the intense pressure on the European Union’s major airlines and the competitive challenges that any national financial support could pose. “We do not believe that Lufthansa should receive state aid from Austrian taxpayers in exactly the same way we do not believe that Ryanair should receive state aid from Austrian taxpayers,” Andreas Gruber, the MD of Ryanair’s Austrian unit Lauda, said. If German-owned Austrian Airlines was to receive aid from Vienna, then Lauda would expect similar support as its Austrian staff are entitled to the same fair treatment under EU state aid rules, he said. The finance ministry has so far not commented on press reports of a potential aid package for Austrian Airlines of E500-800m. <br/>