Niki Lauda bids to buy back Niki, the Austrian airline he founded

Former motor racing world champion Niki Lauda has offered to buy Austrian holiday airline Niki, a company he founded, but Ryanair has pulled out of the bidding. A consortium of family-owned logistics firm Zeitfracht and maintenance group Nayak also decided against an offer, increasing Lauda’s chances of repurchasing an airline he set up in 2003. “I can confirm that Niki Lauda handed in an offer (for Niki),” his spokeswoman said, declining to say how much he offered or whether he had teamed up with anyone. Niki’s administrators, who had asked for binding offers by Thursday, have been racing to find an alternative buyer for its assets before it loses its take-off and landing slots, its most attractive asset. Other interested parties include Thomas Cook and Swiss carrier PrivatAir. Sources have said IAG is also interested. <br/>