German government agrees €9B Lufthansa bailout

The deal still needs to be approved by the European Commission’s competition team.

BERLIN — The German government Monday approved a €9 billion bailout package for flag carrier Lufthansa in return for an initial 20 percent stake in the airline, the economics and finance ministries said.

The deal will give the government two seats on Lufthansa's supervisory board but the agreement worked out over the last few weeks stipulates these should be taken by "independent experts," which would appear to exclude political appointees.

The financing includes a €3 billion loan through the national development bank with €600 million of that coming from commercial banks. Around €5 billion comes in return for the ownership stake; a final €1 billion could be converted into an additional 5 percent stake, the statement said.

The deal still needs to be approved by the European Commission's competition team, and the statement says "intensive talks" are continuing between Berlin and Brussels.

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