Three-quarter stake in Air Polonia changes hands today

Air Polonia, a domestic budget airline, is finalizing a deal with international investment fund Crescent Venture Partners that, according to unofficial information, will see the fund acquiring a 75% stake in the carrier. "We have finished all the legal and financial audits. The investor - a financial group - will take over a majority stake in Air Polonia because low basic capital is a barrier to our further growth," said Jan Lityński, Air Polonia's president. Crescent is to invest more than zł.10 million in the company, which will allow Air Polonia to increase its fleet and offer more connections. It is rumored that Crescent plans to either list Air Polonia on the stock exchange in two to three years' time or sell it to a sector investor, most probably to Ireland's Ryanair. Meanwhile, Air Polonia plans further expansion: "During the winter season we want to start flights to Moscow. Another region we are interested in is Scandinavia," Lityński revealed. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 6; Parkiet, p. 5) E.B.