The purchase of Malev by Russian companies is being hampered by trade unions

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A meeting of the board of the Hungarian State Privatization Agency (APV) is due to take place today. According to Kommersant's information, a deal to sell the state stake in Malev Hungarian Airlines to Airbridge Rt, a company friendly to private shareholders of Krasnoyarsk Airlines (KrasAir), may be approved. However, the decision of the board members may be influenced by the speeches of the Fidesz party, which is in opposition to the current Hungarian authorities, and trade unions, who believe that it would be more expedient to either postpone the deal or not carry it out at all.

Malev Airlines was founded in 1946. It currently operates a fleet of 29 aircraft, including two Boeing 767-200ER, eighteen Boeing 737 Next Generation (737-600, 700 and 800), five Fokker 70 and four CRJ 200ER. The volume of traffic is about 2 million passengers per year. The company's debts amount to $178.8 million.

Let us remind you that another attempt to sell the unprofitable state airline was made in December. 99.95% of the shares were put up for auction, one of the main conditions for the purchase of which was the obligation to repay debts. In March, it became known that Airbridge Rt, a company registered in Hungary, friendly to private shareholders of KrasAir, was laying claim to Malev. At the end of July, the APV board announced that it was Airbridge that offered the best price for Malev (according to Fidesz, we are talking about $801 thousand). The general director of KrasAir, Boris Abramovich, told Kommersant at the time that the purchase and sale transaction could be closed by mid-August.

However, its registration was delayed. Last week, KrasAir reported that the deal would be completed by August 25. Yesterday, APV PR Director Peter Oravec told Kommersant that the next meeting of the APV board is scheduled for Friday. “His agenda will also include the issue of the Malev privatization procedure,” he clarified. A Kommersant source in KrasAir management confirmed this information. True, according to his version, we are talking about a meeting of the APV board of directors (such a body is also in the agency’s structure). Another Kommersant source close to the deal claims that the purchase and sale agreement could be approved today. Officially, KrasAir does not comment on this information.

Malev worker unions and Fidesz representatives may interfere with Airbridge’s plans. According to foreign media reports, both are proposing to postpone the deal at least until elections to the national parliament in the spring of 2006. They consider the amount offered by Airbridge for Malev to be underestimated, and also argue that the potential buyer did not provide sufficient guarantees of stability in the personnel policy. Attila Chorba, head of the independent trade union of air transport workers (one of six trade union organizations that includes Malev workers), yesterday refused to comment to Kommersant on the privatization of the airline, clarifying that the trade unions are developing a unified position on this issue.

SERGEY Kommersant-RYZHKIN, ALENA Kommersant-MIKLASHEVSKAYA, Moscow

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