It Looks Like Air Berlin Might Sell For Parts

The bidding war for bankrupt Air Berlin is almost over—here’s what the results might be.

In mid-August, Air Berlin lost support from its main shareholder, Etihad Airways. The result was a quick slide into bankruptcy proceedings followed by a month-long opportunity for potential buyers to bid on the airline. On Friday, that bidding war came to a close. Concrete decisions on which offer to accept are expected from Air Berlin by September 25, but here’s where things stand now.

Buyers are looking to get their hands on 8,500 employees, 140 planes, and a group of premium landing slots at German airports. Bidders have included everyone from Lufthansa to a Formula One racer from Austria. Lufthansa seems most interested in the planes themselves, already leasing about 38 from Air Berlin and looking to get up to 90 total.

Formula One racer Niki Lauda also wants the planes, making a joint bid with Thomas Cook to buy 38 of them. Aviation investor Hans Rudolf Woehrl has offered to buy the entire business for €500 million, or about $597 million. Other offers have come in from EasyJet, the tourism operator TUI, the owner of Parchim cargo airport in Germany, and the former head of EnBW, one of Germany’s power suppliers.

But there are some concerns. RyanAir apparently wants nothing to do with a deal, and Lufthansa has been accused of trying to create a monopoly. Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries doesn’t think a sale to a single company will be easy, “for competition reasons,” she said in a statement. For now, though, Air Berlin said there have been about 10 talks with potential investors.