Lufthansa Group will invest €14 million in airBaltic, acquiring a minority stake, and securing a Supervisory Board seat. In return, Lufthansa Group will receive a 10 percent convertible share grant, which will be converted into ordinary shares upon a potential IPO.

On Wednesday (January 29, 2025), airBaltic announced that Lufthansa Group has acquired a minority stake in the carrier, with a €14 million investment. Lufthansa Group will hold a seat on airBaltic’s Supervisory Board and will receive a convertible share granting of a 10 percent stake, which will be issued at the subscription rate of €14 million, and converted into ordinary shares during a potential IPO of airBaltic stock. Following the IPO, Lufthansa Group’s stake in airBaltic will be determined by market pricing, with the Group’s stake amounting to no less than 5.0 percent of airBaltic.
Building on the existing strategic partnership between the two companies, this transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2025, subject to antitrust review. Lufthansa Group’s investment will support airBaltic’s growth plans, including the expansion of wet-lease agreements, while strengthening the Group’s role as a strategic partner of airBaltic. Recently, the wet-lease agreements between Lufthansa Group and airBaltic were extended through 2028. This will allow the Group to deploy up to 21 additional A220-300 aircraft for summer, and five for winter across various Lufthansa Group hubs.
Established in 1995, Air Baltic Corporation SA (airBaltic) is a joint stock company with most of the equity (97.97%) held by the Latvian state and the remaining 2.03% held by other shareholders. Lufthansa Group plans on taking a minority stake in the company by Q2 2025, subject to regulatory approval. One of the most punctual carriers in the world, the airline connects the Baltic region with over 130 routes from Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Tampere, and seasonally from Gran Canaria to more than 80 destinations in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus region. The carrier operates a single fleet type of 50 Airbus A220-300s, and plans on expanding their A220-300 fleet to 100 aircraft by 2030. The airline Group also includes Air Baltic Training SIA, Loyalty Services SIA, Baltijas Kravu Centrs SIA and Crew Resources AS. airBaltic currently employs over 2,700 team members.
Source(s): airBaltic, Lufthansa Group