Paris-based airline company Air France-KLM on Friday said it had received a firm offer from Germany's Intro Aviation GmbH to purchase its CityJet regional airline as well as its subsidiary VLM Airlines.
According to a report by Reuters, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Air France-KLM said in a statement that it expected the transaction to close in the first quarter of 2014. Reuters had reported on the talks in July.
Dublin-based CityJet is the No. 1 carrier at London City Airport. It had a fleet of 38 aircraft and offers more than 480 weekly flights across Europe, the report said.
Irish Times in a separate report said that CityJet has been on the blocks for many months, having struggled financially in recent years. It posted a loss of €209 million in 2012. CityJet got a capital injection of €180 million by Air France Finance so that it could repay its debt to its French parent.
Intro Aviation acquired German airline Deutsche BA from British Airways in 2003. Deutsche BA was renamed DBA and then sold to Air Berlin in 2006. The same year, Intro Aviation took a majority stake in Germany's LTU International and sold the rehabilitated carrier to Air Berlin in 2007, the report said.
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