Lufthansa shareholders back E9b bailout package

Lufthansa’s shareholders have voted through a E9b 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. However, Thiele, who built a 15.5% position in the airline in the months following the Covid-19 outbreak and could have single-handedly blocked the bailout because of the low turnout at Thursday’s extraordinary general meeting, ended up supporting the package. Overall, more than 98% of those registered voted to approve the bailout. In his opening remarks at the meeting, CE Carsten Spohr defended the size of the deal, which he previously said was larger than the amount Lufthansa needed to avoid insolvency. “Viability is the sum of competitiveness plus ability to invest,” the former pilot said. Spohr also said the German carrier had “no alternative for meeting our capital requirements”, and reiterated that Lufthansa will emerge from the crisis a smaller group, with at least 100 fewer aircraft. Rival airline Ryanair has vowed to challenge the bailout in court. The success of the bailout vote is a blow to a number of US and UK hedge funds, which had stood to profit if the rescue package was scuppered.<br/>