Finnair sells shareholding in Norwegian for approximately €53m

Finnair has sold its entire holding of 1,649,862 shares, representing 4.69% of total shares, in Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA (Norwegian). The shares were sold for approximately €53m and Finnair’s capital gain for the transaction totalled approximately €34m. It will be recorded as financial income in Finnair’s second quarter 2013 accounts. Finnair’s holding in Norwegian was included in Finnair’s 2012 Financial Statements in other short-term financial assets and it was valued at fair value. The proceeds from the sale will be used for the development of Finnair and implementation of its growth strategy. The sale of Norwegian shares increases Finnair’s shareholders’ equity by approximately €16m compared to 31.12.2012 level. Norwegian shares were transferred to Finnair in 2007 in connection with the sale of Finnair’s Swedish subsidiary FlyNordic to Norwegian. The transaction was then implemented as a share-swap.