Attestor Capital, majority owner of Condor (DE, Frankfurt International), is acquiring the remaining 49% of the airline’s capital from SG Luftfahrtgesellschaft, a state-owned holding company that has held the shares on behalf of Germany’s federal government and government of the state of Hesse since Condor’s Covid-linked financial woes.

The deal is part of a previously agreed option for the London-based investment firm. Attestor initially purchased a 51% stake in Condor in 2021. The acquisition of the remaining 49% is to be finalised by August 31, 2027, Condor said in a press release.

Earlier, reports said that Attestor was looking for a strategic partner but decided to go ahead with full ownership regardless of the search for the partner, which would be expected to help operate the airline.

“Following the insolvency of its former parent company, Thomas Cook Group, and the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the German federal government and the state of Hesse played a crucial role in stabilising Condor during a crisis for which it was not responsible. Attestor acquired a stake in Condor in 2021 as a long-term investor and actively supported the company's further development,” Condor said in a statement.

The pandemic-era state bailout programme for Condor formally ends on September 30. Earlier this year, CEO Peter Gerber stated that it repaid a EUR175 million euro (USD200 million) pandemic loan six months ahead of schedule to the German state-owned development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW). Another loan tranche was due to Attestor before the ownership review. ch-aviation enquired about the status of that payment, but Condor replied that it was unable to provide information beyond its announcement.