PRESS: UTair may sell stakes in UTG, Surgut airport

MOSCOW, May 14 (PRIME) -- Russian airline UTair may sell its stakes in handling company UTG and the airport of Surgut on demand of creditors, Kommersant business daily reported Tuesday citing sources in the aviation industry.

“The issue of the possible sale of assets, the possession of which is not a strategic priority of the company, is in the constant focus of attention of UTair’s supervisory board and management,” the airline said.

Sources said the airline could sell its non-core assets due to a need to repay debts to banks. In December 2018, the company defaulted on a 15.4 billion ruble syndicated loan and on a 17.4 billion ruble loan to top lender Sberbank.

The company could receive around 3 billion rubles from the sale, sources said.

According to Kommersant, companies of the Vnukovo airport’s co-owner Vitaly Vantsev sent to UTair an offer to buy the airline’s entire 50% stake in UTG. The remaining 50% stake is held by Glonass Management Company of Dmitry Tizin, Dmitry Grunenkov, and Mikhail Morozov.

UTair currently holds 56% in the airport of Surgut. The stake could be bought by Airports of Regions, a unit of Viktor Vekselberg’s multi-industry holding Renova, which already holds 20% in the airport, or by Novaport of Roman Trotsenko, one of the sources said.

(65.4703 rubles – U.S. $1)

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