Prague - Dutch national carrier KLM which forms part of Air France-KLM Holding is interested in the possibility of buying its Czech counterpart ČSA.
Dutch newspaper De Financiële Telegraaf (DFT) first broke the news claiming that KLM, which allegedly views CSA as appropriate acquisition, already made initial moves.
According to the information Aktuálně.cz has been getting, this is still a very early stage and amounts to nothing more than exploratory talks.
Cautious approach
"I would not call it negotiation, perhaps there have been some indicative meetings," Czech minister of transportation Aleš Řebíček told Aktuálně.cz.
"There is a stabilization program in ČSA which first has to run its course before we can decide what our next step will be," he said.
Infobox
Czech Airlines (ČSA)
Founded in 1923 as Czechoslovak State Airlines
Shareholders: Czech Ministry of Finance (56.92%), Czech Consolidation Agency (34.59%) and other Czech institutions.
Employees: over five thousand
Connections to 104 destinations in 44 countries
Czech state still controls the company with Řebíček´s ministry in line to "inherit" more than a third of its shares from the Czech Consolidation Agency (ČKA).
However, the plans for privatization of ČSA will be on the cabinet's agenda when it meets on Wednesday.
"Together with the Ministry of Finance we are suggesting to start the process of thoroughly analyzing the suitability, scope and precise mode of privatization so that we have a better idea of how to go about it in half a year's time," said Řebíček.
ČSA keeps mum
The company itself denies any negotiations are taking place. "The management of ČSA is not negotiating with Air France-KLM Holding," was the stern reply of the company spokeswoman Daniela Hupáková.
And sure enough, officially, nothing is happening so far.
"Nobody is negotiating with us as owners and nobody really can since the government still has to decide on the mode of privatization of ČSA," finance minister Miroslav Kalousek told Aktuálně.cz. It is his ministry who holds majority stake in ČSA.
Air France-KLM is reportedly also interested in the possibility of buying Italian national carrier Alitalia with Romano Prodi's cabinet anxious to sell the majority stake in it.
DFT believes the holding's interest was shown by its applying for an exception with the American anti-monopoly watchdog which would allow it to closely cooperate with Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines.
And this exception is to be broadened to include ČSA and Alitalia as well. Moreover, all of these companies are already part of the Sky Team Alliance and forging a closer cooperation is supposed to help them achieve higher profitability.
You can find the story in its original Czech version here.
