Lufthansa’s biggest shareholder gives last-minute support to rescue

Lufthansa’s E9b 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% of Lufthansa, had previously signalled that he would seek to renegotiate the deal with the German government. The former tank commander told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung last week he was unhappy with the proposal by Angela Merkel’s administration. Thiele argued the government was buying Lufthansa’s stock at an unreasonable discount, paying a nominal E2.56 per share — less than a third of the current market price. The 79-year-old, along with other Lufthansa shareholders, was also concerned about the size of the German government’s stake, and the influence it would give lawmakers, arguing the move would weaken the carrier’s competitiveness against rivals including Air France-KLM, which was rescued without any equity participation. In an interview with the paper published late Wednesday evening, Thiele confirmed he would vote for the bailout despite his concerns.<br/>