- Lufthansa’s capital increase successfully completed – new shares are being traded as of today.
- Proceeds from capital increase flow directly into repayment of stabilization funds of the German Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF).
- Full repayment and cancellation of ESF Silent Participations I and II planned before the end of the year.
With today’s finalization of the capital increase Deutsche Lufthansa AG has completely repaid the amount of 1.5 billion euros drawn from the Silent Participation I of the Economic Stabilization Fund of the Federal Republic of Germany (ESF). With this, Deutsche Lufthansa AG has settled a major part of the currently outstanding stabilization measures of the ESF. The repayment was made significantly earlier than originally planned.
The gross proceeds of the capital increase amounted to 2.162 billion euros. The new shares are being traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since today. The capital increase is therefore completed.
Carsten Spohr, CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG says:
“We are very grateful that Deutsche Lufthansa AG was stabilized with tax money in the most challenging of times. This has made it possible to preserve more than 100,000 jobs and secure them for the future. Today, we are keeping our promise and paying back a large part of the stabilization funds earlier than expected. We are increasingly confident about the future. More and more countries are opening their borders, and demand for air travel, especially from business travelers, is growing daily. Nevertheless, the environment for airlines remains challenging. That is why we are consistent in continuing our transformation. Our goal remains unchanged: the Lufthansa Group will continue to defend its position among the world’s top 5 airline groups.”
Following today’s repayment of the Silent Participation I, the Company also intends to fully repay the Silent Participation II of 1 billion euros before the end of 2021 and to terminate the unused portion of Silent Participation I also before the end of 2021. A KfW loan of 1 billion euros was already paid back earlier than planned (February 2021). The ESF, which now holds 14.09% of the share capital, has committed not to sell any shares in the company in the six months following the completion of the capital increase. However, the sale of the stake is to be completed no later than 24 months after completion of the capital increase, provided that the Company has repaid the Silent Participations I and II as planned and that the contractual requirements are met.
