South African Black-empowerment investment firm Harith General Partners and affiliates have signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire full ownership of FlySafair (FA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo), subject to regulatory approvals, including from South Africa's Competition Commission.

The deal, the value of which was not disclosed, effectively makes the airline partly state-owned. Harith is 30% owned by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), a South African state-owned entity. It is South Africa’s largest asset management firm and oversees public-sector funds, including the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).

Harith chairman Tshepo Mahloele told Bloomberg the firm will purchase FlySafair through subsidiary Harith Aviation, and the transaction should be concluded by the fourth quarter of 2026. He said the deal would represent about 15% of Harith's overall portfolio and would be funded through a mix of equity and debt.

"The airline is being acquired as a going concern with a clear focus on continuity of our operations, strategy, our brand, and our leadership team, which will all remain unchanged," commented FlySafair CCO Kirby Gordon.

The transaction follows regulatory scrutiny over FlySafair’s ownership structure. South African civil aviation regulations require local airlines to be at least 75% South African-owned, but the Air Services Licensing Council found that Irish firm ASL Aviation Holdings effectively controlled 74.86% of FlySafair through a trust structure.

FlySafair obtained an urgent court interdict suspending a February 2026 deadline to fix its ownership structure. In October 2025, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria set aside the council’s order pending a judicial review.

"Negotiations on this transaction were already underway some time before the Air Services Licensing Council issued its finding on FlySafair's [ownership] structure. While this is not an automatic remedy, we believe that it is a constructive step, and we will continue to engage transparently with these regulators, whose approval of the new structure is a requirement for the transaction," Gordon stated.

In November 2025, FlySafair declined to comment on a report that Harith General Partners was courting the airline for a Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) deal that could give the South African state indirect control of the operator.

The Citizen newspaper earlier reported that a deal with FlySafair, if concluded, could give the state indirect control of 76% of the domestic aviation market, combining FlySafair's 67% domestic market share with South African Airways' state-ownership. The report drew comparisons with SAA and its now-defunct low-cost subsidiary Mango Airlines.

Based in Johannesburg, Harith made headlines in 2021 when it led the Takatso Aviation Consortium, alongside Global Aviation Operations, in an unsuccessful bid to acquire a 51% stake in SAA, then emerging from business rescue. Harith had also considered investing in now-defunct South African Express, but ultimately opted against the acquisition.

The GEPF, represented by the PIC, and the Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund (PAIDF), which is managed by Harith General Partners, also control Johannesburg Lanseria airport.

ASL Aviation Holdings, in a separate statement, confirmed that it had sold its interest in FlySafair to Harith General Partners and its affiliates. It said the financial details of the transaction were not being disclosed.