SAS Group acquires 49% of Estonian Air

SAS has signed an agreement with Danish Maersk Air A/S to acquire 49% of the shares in the Estonian airline

In a press release to the Copenhagen Stock Exchange late Thursday SAS AB announced it has signed an agreement with Danish Maersk Air A/S to acquire 49% of the shares in the Estonian airline Estonian Air. The other shareholders of Estonian Air are the Estonian Government with 34% and the Estonian investment banking firm AS Cresco with 17%. SAS AB has also signed an agreement with Cresco covering a possible increase of SAS shareholding in Estonian Air. In addition to Estonian Air, SAS AB acquires 100% of the shares of Maersk Air Maintenance Estonia AS, a company based in Tallinn providing technical maintenance for aircraft. The total purchase price is SEK 180 million.

According to the announcement, the acquisition is part of the SAS Group’s strategy to strengthen its position in the Baltic region. Estonian Air has a strong base in its routes to Copenhagen and Stockholm and has favourable prospects for future expansion. Executive Vice President of Subsidiary & Affiliated Airlines Gunnar Reitan comments "Estonian Air is a profitable, strong and growing company in a strategically highly attractive region. Traffic to and from Estonia is expected to increase by at least 8-10% annually”.