Smartwings Airlines has returned to full control of its Czech shareholders, it was announced yesterday. Almost half of the shares previously held indirectly by the Chinese company CITIC have been bought by the Czech firm Prague City Air of Smartwings Group owners Jiri Siman and Roman Vik, according to information from the airline. The price of the transaction will not be disclosed by mutual agreement, said Smartwings spokeswoman Vladimíra Dufková.
“On February 20, 2024, the purchase of 49.92 percent of shares in Smartwings, a.s. was completed between the buyer, Prague City Air, and the seller, Rainbow Wisdom Investment Limited,” Dufková said. It was through Rainbow Wisdom Investment that the Chinese company CITIC held a 49.92 percent stake in Smartwings. “Smartwings, a.s. is thus coming back under the full control of the Czech shareholders, who cross-own 100 percent of the shares of CSA and Smartwings,” Dufková added.
The information about the transaction comes after Israeli airline Israir lost interest in joining Smartwings. CITIC was in talks to buy a stake in Smartwings, according to its statements to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The Chinese firm acquired a stake in Smartwings in 2016, one of the Chinese investments pushed by then-President Milos Zeman. The buyer at the time was Chinese state-owned group CEFC, after whose collapse another state-owned company, CITIC, took over the assets.
Prague City Air was established the previous January and became an investor in the air carrier CSA, which went bankrupt in March 2021 due to high debts. A court-sanctioned reorganisation of CSA then ended the summer before last. Over the years, however, CSA has lost most of its aircraft and routes, with Smartwings now the main Czech carrier.
Source: Smartwings and CTK
