Niki Lauda sells his remaining shares to Airberlin, will join the Airberlin board

Niki’s (Vienna) founder and majority shareholder announced on November 8, 2011 he was selling all his remaining shares to Airberlin.

Lauda previously owned 50.1 percent of his second airline.

The Niki name will remain and Niki Lauda will join the Airberlin board of directors.

Airberlin issued the following statement:

“The founder of Austrian airline Niki Luftfahrt GmbH, Andreas Nikolaus (Niki) Lauda, has been appointed to the Board of Air Berlin PLC as Non-Executive Director.

Since July 2010 Air Berlin PLC has held a 49.9 stake in Niki Luftfahrt GmbH. Airberlin, the Lauda Private Trust and Niki Lauda have agreed that the Lauda Private Trust will be withdrawing from Niki Luftfahrt GmbH. The withdrawal of the Lauda Private Trust will be taking place shortly in the course of restructuring measures in accordance with company law. As a result the Lauda Private Trust will be repaying the loan it had received from Airberlin by transferring its 50.1 percent stake in Niki Luftfahrt GmbH. Austrian control and majority ownership of Niki Luftfahrt GmbH will in future be ensured by a new private trust that is exclusively Austrian and that will hold a majority stake in Niki Luftfahrt GmbH. The transfer of the 50.1 percent stake will not involve any cash payments.”

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck. Please click on the photo for the full story.

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