The process of attracting a strategic investor to Latvia’s national airline airBaltic has been successfully completed, with all transaction documents signed and the required formalities finalized.
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Including the previously announced co-investment by the Latvian state on the same terms, the total investment in the airline now stands at EUR 28 million. On August 19th, the Government of Latvia reviewed the informative report prepared by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and approved a co-investment of 14 million euros in the national airline airBaltic, to be made simultaneously with the strategic investor Lufthansa Group.
Following Lufthansa Group’s commitment to invest 14 million euros in airBaltic as a strategic investor prior to the company’s potential initial public offering (IPO), the Latvian government has decided to make a co-investment of the same amount and under identical conditions. This investment complies with the Market Economy Operator Principle (MEOP), meaning that the state acts as any market participant would, assessing the return and conditions of the investment. Such an approach is fiscally neutral and does not increase the state budget deficit.
“The government made the decision to attract the Lufthansa Group as a strategic partner for the national airline airBaltic in December 2024. Having one of the industry leaders become a strategic investor in airBaltic increases the value of our national airline, confirms its leading market position, and strengthens the company’s path toward an IPO. This will help attract other investors, as it demonstrates that airBaltic’s business model is sustainable. When signing the agreement with Lufthansa Group, we were prepared for the possibility of a co-investment in the same amount and under identical conditions as the investor,” explained Minister of Transport Atis Švinka.
airBaltic operates more than 130 routes from Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, Tampere, and, seasonally, Gran Canaria, offering connections to a wide range of destinations in the airline’s route network in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Caucasus region.