Poland won’t pay penalty for German airline deal exit: minister

Industry:    2020-04-17

Poland will not be penalised for walking away from a planned takeover of German airlines Condor, State Assets Minister Jacek Sasin said on Thursday.

The owner of Poland’s national airline LOT, state-run Polish Aviation Group (PGL), said on Monday it had pulled out of the deal to buy Condor, raising the prospect of Berlin nationalising the troubled carrier.

Sasin said the German side had not fulfilled the terms of the agreement.

“We will not be paying any fines, as (our withdrawal) is not our (fault), but is connected to the fact that the other side of the transaction has not completed the terms of the contract,” he told private radio RMF.

PGL agreed in January to buy Condor for about 300 million euros ($326.25 million), potentially creating a leading European aviation group with more than 20 million passengers a year.

But sources familiar with the matter said earlier this month that Germany was ready to take over Condor as it expected the deal with LOT to collapse due to the industry turmoil caused by coronavirus.

“Condor has fulfilled all conditions in the contract for the takeover by PGL,” a Condor spokeswoman said.

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