Skift Take
Etihad's investment amounts to a rescue plan for Air Berlin, and is part of Etihad's plan to foster a multi-carrier frequent flyer program.
Air Berlin Plc sold control of its frequent-flier program to shareholder Etihad Airways for 184.4 million euros ($243 million) in a transaction that should help the discount carrier post its first annual profit since 2007.
Air Berlin stock rose as much as 9.9 percent, the most in seven months, after the German company said that Abu Dhabi-based Etihad would buy a 70 percent stake in the Topbonus program, with proceeds to be booked against this year’s earnings.
State-owned Etihad has a 29 percent holding in Air Berlin as part of a policy of investing in smaller operators to help feed long-haul flights and turn its home emirate into a hub for intercontinental travel. The German carrier has been closing routes and pondering job cuts after Europe’s economic slump pushed other short-haul operators in the region to collapse.
“With this step Air Berlin has moved from an emergency situation to a very stressed situation,” said Juergen Pieper, an analyst at Bankhaus Metzler in Frankfurt with a “sell” rating on Air Berlin. The deal, flagged by the German company Dec. 5, is at the top-end of estimates and “really rescues th
