Air China to buy minority stake in PLL LOT - Rzeczpospolita

Air China, China's national carrier, is said to be in talks with the Ministry of Treasury concerning the purchase of 49 percent of PLL LOT's shares, Rzeczpospolita reported. According to valuations, such minority stake in the company may cost about $100 million. The Chinese investor might be a rescue for the polish carrier, who has had problems with the repayment of liabilities for years. "It'll be a backdoor entrance into the European market for the Chinese," EKES deputy director Jacek Krawczyk says. A similar transaction has been made between Korean Air and Czech Airlines in 2013, with the sole purpose of opening EU's door. LOT, currently operating a Beijing-Warsaw route, would like to further expand in Asia,  supposedly to Hongkong or Chengdu. PLL LOT is a polish joint-stock company, with the Treasury as majority shareholder.  It has  repeatedly been  tried to be sold in recent years in transactions with the now bankrupt Swissair, Turkish Airlines and Indigo Partners.