Denmark opts out as Norway and Sweden sell shares in SAS

Up until now, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) has been able to class itself as a state-owned airline, but with the sale of a total of 7% of the airline’s shares, the combined joint holding of the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish governments has now fallen below 50%. Norway’s stake has now fallen to 11.5% from 14.2%, while Sweden’s stake has fallen from 21.3% to 17.2%. Denmark’s stake stands at 14.2%. The sale took place on Thursday, October 13.
A total of 31 million shares were sold at a price of SEK15.50, while this year the airline has seen a 40% drop in share value, though the airline has posted better financial results. While the Norwegian state has invested as much as SEK2.4 billion, its treasury has recouped approximately NOK132 million through the sale of shares.
According to the Norwegian Trade Minister, Monica Mæland, the time was right to sell following years of financial losses. “SAS has had positive operating development recently and I have great faith that the company will work in a goal-oriented manner to further improve its competitive position,” Mæland stated in a press release last Thursday. “The (Norwegian) government has been clear that the company will be well-served with owners other than the Norwegian state, and this transaction contributes to that.”
The sale was handled by Citigroup, Nordea and Swedbank, with Pareto Securities and Oslo-based law firm Wiersholm respectively acting as financial and legal adviser. According to Mæland’s ministry, buyers included “investors from Norway and abroad.”
The Danish government opted out of Thursday’s sale. SAS maintains a major hub at Copenhagen’s airport, which may indicate that to Denmark, a stake in the airline is more politically important than it is in Norway or Sweden.
With the public stake falling to 42.9 percent, it is still possible for the three Scandinavian countries to have control over the airline should they team up with the Swedish Wallenberg family, which holds 7.5% of SAS stock. Thus, it may not be a coincidence that only 7% of the airlines shares were sold off.
($US1.00 = SEK8.83 = NOK8.16 at time of publication.)