Takeover of Condor by LOT is off the table

The takeover of Condor by LOT Polish Airlines is off the table. Because of the corona crisis, the parent company of the Polish carrier does not have the money to take over the German vacation airline.

This is what Reuters news agency reported on Monday. Polish Aviation Group (PGL), LOT’s parent company, and Condor signed the purchase agreement in January this year.

Condor was part of Thomas Cook, which went bankrupt last year. Condor had been kept afloat since Cook’s bankruptcy with a bridge loan from the German government. The €380 million credit, granted through state-owned bank KFW, should be repaid by mid-April this year.

Following the bankruptcy of Thomas Cook, there were ultimately three candidates for Condor. In addition to LOT, that was American Apollo along with some German tour operators and British investment company Greybull.

In the end, LOT became the buyer. The purchase would create a European aviation group with more than 20 million passengers a year.
No takeover sum was officially disclosed, but according to Reuters it was in the region of 300 million euros. This comes close to the €380 million bridge loan that the German government had made available.

Condor is a popular vacation airline and is considered a systemically important airline in Germany, as many tour operators use it for their package holidays to the Mediterranean, among other destinations. According to Reuters, it is not excluded that the German state will now convert the bridge loan into a form of (co-)ownership. State bank KfW already came to the aid of several travel companies recently. (Condor Photo)