PRESS: Malaysian investor may buy Russia’s Transaero

MOSCOW, Oct 29 (PRIME) -- A specialized Malaysian government fund is interested in the purchase of troubled Russian airline Transaero or in establishment of an Asia-oriented airline based its fleet and new airline’s planes, business daily Kommersant reported Thursday.

Yury Spiridonov, president of the Russian Investment Agency (RIA), told the business daily that the fund and the RIA have held two meetings with the Transport Ministry and expressed their interest in buying Transaero. Officials and representatives for the airline’s largest creditors – Sberbank, Vnesheconombank and VTB – supported the idea, Kommersant reported.

“Malaysian investors have experience of working with debts – they have already restructured debts of Malaysia Airlines that amounted to U.S. $6 billion,” Spiridonov told Kommersant.

One of the options is a purchase of 100% in Transaero with 50% held by the fund and 50% transferred to RIA’s management and restructuring of Transaero’s debt. If the investor is unable to save Transaero, the other option is to buy some of the airline’s fleet and establish a new airline adding investor’s own planes, he said.

Transaero’s debts, including liabilities under leasing contracts, stand at about 250 billion rubles. Last week Vladislav Filyov, a shareholder of S7 Group, signed an agreement to buy at least 51% in Transaero, whose flight license was revoked and the company filed for bankruptcy.

(65.3159 rubles – U.S. $1)

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