Swissair gives notice of intention to sell 21% LOT stake

Swissair has given the Treasury Ministry official notice of its intention to sell its stake in LOT Polish airlines. According to Magdalena Nienaltowska from the Treasury press office, the president of the Swissair Group will visit Poland next week and inform Treasury Minister Wieslaw Kaczmarek in person of the plan to sell the 21.5% of LOT shares. Under the terms of the original agreement by which Swissair acquired the stake, the company is obliged to obtain approval from the Polish government prior to reselling its holding in LOT. It is still unclear whether Swissair has been talking to any potential investors, or whether any interest has been expressed in buying the shares. Last month deputy Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Pilat told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that the government was expecting to find a new strategic investor for the national carrier some time in the first quarter of this year. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B1) P.W.