Israel’s Global Knafaim said on Thursday it bought a 49.9% stake in the small Cypriot airline Tus Airways with a $5 million investment.
Global Knafaim is a unit of Knafaim Holdings, which lost a controlling stake in Israel’s flag carrier El Al last year when the airline applied for a government bailout.
Tus Airways has two Airbus A320 aircraft and will begin flying in Europe this summer and is considering buying Airbus A330 planes suitable for longer flights, Global Knafaim said.
Cyprus-based Tus Airways commenced operations in 2016, and its small fleet comprises two Airbus A320s.
It will begin flying in Europe this summer and is considering buying Airbus A330 planes suitable for longer flights.
Knafaim said customary approvals for the acquisition are still required, and there is “no certainty” that the transaction will be finalised.
As a condition of the deal, Tus will have no external debt except for normal business liabilities when the agreement is completed.
Global Knafaim is a unit of Knafaim Holdings, which remains a shareholder in El Al, the Israeli flag carrier, with a stake of about 10.5%. (agencies)
