FRANKFURT, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Shares of Air Berlin sold by U.S. investor Len Blavatnik are parked at investment bank UBS and are for sale, Handelsblatt reported, citing industry and financial sources.
It was not immediately clear if UBS had bought the stake from Blavatnik or was acting on behalf of another seller.
Air Berlin said last month Blavatnik had sold his 18.9 percent stake in the carrier, leaving market participants guessing who bought the holding.
UBS was now aiming to find a buyer for the shares, the newspaper said. It cited a person familiar with the matter as saying the bank was seeking a 'friendly major shareholder, who could be from the same industry'.
The company's market value has dropped to 260 million euros ($328.8 million) from almost 700 million euros a year ago.
Handelsblatt said Air Berlin had approached the bank and indicated its interest in being involved in the sales process.
UBS declined to comment on the matter, and Air Berlin was not immediately available for comment. The newspaper had cited a spokesman for Air Berlin as saying that information on the shares' location was the owners' concern, not the airline's.
($1=.7908 Euro)
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Sven Egenter in Zurich; editing by Simon Jessop) Keywords: AIRBERLIN/BLAVATNIK (maria.sheahan@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1286; Reuters Messaging: maria.sheahan.thomsonreuters.com@thomsonreuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
It was not immediately clear if UBS had bought the stake from Blavatnik or was acting on behalf of another seller.
Air Berlin said last month Blavatnik had sold his 18.9 percent stake in the carrier, leaving market participants guessing who bought the holding.
UBS was now aiming to find a buyer for the shares, the newspaper said. It cited a person familiar with the matter as saying the bank was seeking a 'friendly major shareholder, who could be from the same industry'.
The company's market value has dropped to 260 million euros ($328.8 million) from almost 700 million euros a year ago.
Handelsblatt said Air Berlin had approached the bank and indicated its interest in being involved in the sales process.
UBS declined to comment on the matter, and Air Berlin was not immediately available for comment. The newspaper had cited a spokesman for Air Berlin as saying that information on the shares' location was the owners' concern, not the airline's.
($1=.7908 Euro)
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan in Frankfurt; Additional reporting by Sven Egenter in Zurich; editing by Simon Jessop) Keywords: AIRBERLIN/BLAVATNIK (maria.sheahan@thomsonreuters.com; +49 69 7565 1286; Reuters Messaging: maria.sheahan.thomsonreuters.com@thomsonreuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.