Three months after the death of German billionaire Heinz Hermann Thiele, the largest private shareholder in Lufthansa, his family sold half of its stake in the leading airline and received 320 million euros for it, AFP reported.
The family investment group KB Holding has placed 33 million shares at a unit price of 9.80 euros, according to today’s communiqué, quoted by German media.
Shares of Lufthansa today fell in the afternoon session by 6.37 percent to 10.18 euros per share.
Mr Thiele died in late February at the age of 79, less than a year after buying more than 10 per cent of the group’s capital at the height of the health crisis. This caused turmoil in the negotiations to save the company from the state. The reason was that the businessman was against the entry of Berlin into the capital of Lufthansa and he even threatened to change an important text of the draft agreement.
In the end, the billionaire accepted the participation of the state and thus made it possible for the largest European airline to be saved from bankruptcy. He threatened her with virtually blocked air travel caused by restrictions on the fight against Covid-19.
The state holds 20 percent of Lufthansa shares, reminds AFP.
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