Tallinn in talks with seven suitors for Nordica sale

Estonia’s Ministry of Climate, which oversees the operations of Nordica, is in contact with seven potential suitors, all of which are European companies, over the full or partial sale of the loss-making state-owned flag carrier and aims to reach a preliminary agreement with at least one of them this month, the Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported. The lessor Transpordi Varahaldus, also a subsidiary of Nordic Aviation Group, is not currently part of the agreement and will be sold later, but sister carrier and ACMI specialist Xfly is ready for sale with or without Nordica. “Initial materials were sent out to the interested parties before Christmas, and we’ll be awaiting more detailed feedback in the first weeks of January,” said Sander Salmu, undersecretary for mobility and transport at the ministry. “The process has become a bit more formal.” The Estonian government met interested parties in November and December, and the Baltic financial advisory firm assisting with the sale, Superia, has since dispatched further information to seven possible suitors. If one or more entities are interested in buying Nordica, the ministry will follow up with additional and more precise financial data on signing a confidentiality agreement. “We’ve started with those who are active in Europe and are familiar with the field - so that we wouldn’t have to start explaining from scratch, so to speak, what Europe is and how aviation works here,” Salmu added.<br/>