Germany’s competition authority Bundeskartellamt has approved the Lufthansa Group’s plans to acquire a minority stake in AirBaltic.
The planned investment, first announced in January, will see Lufthansa take a 10 per cent stake in the Latvia-based carrier along with a seat on AirBaltic's supervisory board.
Despite raising “significant competition concerns” on "numerous" connections between Germany and the Baltic states, the Bundeskartellamt cleared the deal because the affected routes “constitute so-called minor markets with very low domestic sales volumes,” the authority said in a statement.
The transaction comes after Lufthansa and AirBaltic recently extended their wet-lease agreement for another three years beyond its initial summer 2025 end date. This will see up to 21 of AirBaltic’s Airbus A220-300 aircraft deployed to various Lufthansa Group hubs during summer, and five during the winter season.
The merger was subject to German antitrust control, however the Bundeskartellamt said that if Lufthansa increases its shareholding to acquire a controlling stake in AirBaltic, the future deal would be subject to European Commission approval.
In January, Lufthansa Group also completed a deal to acquire a 41 per cent stake in Italian carrier ITA Airways.