On Friday, the Polish Aviation Group (PGL), parent company of LOT Polish Airlines announced the acquisition of German leisure carrier Condor Airlines. The combination creates a leading European aviation group with Poland and Germany as core markets.
Today, LOT Polish Airlines announced that their owner, the Polish Aviation Group (PGL) has acquired German leisure carrier Condor Airlines. The acquisition successfully ends Condor’s protective shield proceedings which started following the collapse of Thomas Cook plc. Condor’s management team and branding will remain, and carrier will become the center of PGL’s leisure strategy focusing on Germany and adjacent markets. Bridge financing which had provided by the KfW (a German state-owned development bank) and guaranteed by the German Federal Government and the State of Hessen will now be fully repaid. In Friday’s announcement, PGL’s Management Board President, Rafal Milczarski said,
“The acquisition of Condor fits perfectly into PGL’s strategy. It also secures the future of Condor and offers stability and great opportunities to its employees, customers and business partners. We want to develop Condor’s iconic brand in Germany and also introduce it to other markets in Europe. We wholeheartedly welcome all Condor employees to the PGL family and invite them to build together one of the greatest aviation groups in Europe.”
Also commenting on the acquisition, Condor’s Chief Executive Officer, Ralf Teckentrup added, “
We are pleased that Condor, Germany’s most popular leisure airline, has gained in PGL and LOT stable, experienced and dynamically developing partners who secure the future of our business. Together we will serve twice as many passengers, thus forming one of the largest aviation groups and the leading leisure airline group in Europe. Our partners and customers can safely plan their holiday flights with Condor.”
With the Condor acquisition, PGL will now service around 20M customers annually and Condor will gain expanded connectivity and operational synergies between the two carriers. The transaction is expected to close in April 2020, pending regulatory approval and PGL’s investment will allow Condor the pay back the KfW in full. PGL is the leading aviation group in Central and Eastern Europe and the owner of LOT Polish Airlines. LOT operates over 120 routes, including 18 long-haul connections to North America and Asia. The airline has major hubs in Warsaw and Budapest and carried over 10M passengers in 2019. LOT operates a fleet of 80 aircraft which includes 15 long-haul state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Last year, PGL generated revenues of around €1.9B.
Founded in 1956, Condor is Germany’s favorite leisure airline, carrying around 9.4M guests annually to 90 destinations in Europe, Africa and America from eight German gateways. During the financial year 2018/2019, Condor Flugdienst recorded a net profit of €57M on revenue of €1.7B. The German leisure carrier has a fleet of 50 aircraft which are meticulously maintained to the highest safety standards by their wholly-owned subsidiary Condor Technik which has MRO facilities in Frankfurt and Düsseldorf.
Source(s): LOT Polish Airlines, Condor Airlines