Russian Aeroflot talks fail on joint bid for Czech Airlines with equity groups PPF, J&T

PRAGUE. INTERFAX CENTRAL EUROPE - Russian carrier Aeroflot failed to reach agreement with three separate Czech-founded investment groups toward submitting a joint bid for national carrier Czech Airlines (CSA), the online edition of Euro weekly reported Wednesday.

"Discussions with PPF [Group] and J&T ended in the early stages," Aeroflot deputy general director Lev Koshlyakov said, as cited by the news server, adding that a third Czech equity group, Penta, has signaled it isn't ready to co-finance a bid for CSA.

Earlier, Koshlyakov said the Russian airline was looking to take a 49% stake in a consortium with a Czech partner.

A consortium of Deloitte Advisory/CMS Cameron McKenna is advising the Czech government on the sale of its 91.51% stake in CSA valued at CZK 3.5-5 bln. The Finance Ministry has proposed the privatization take place in two rounds over the first half of 2009.

French-Dutch air carrier Air France-KLM could offer up to EUR 200 mln (CZK 5.6 bln), for CSA, French daily La Tribune reported this week.

CSA posted a CZK 406 mln profit in January-September of this year, down nearly 28% year-on-year (y/y) from Q1-Q3 2007, airline management said previously, attributing the drop to higher fuel costs and the strength of the Czech crown during the first half of 2008.
 
INTERFAX