HELSINKI, Feb 4 (Reuters) - German airline Lufthansa said it would be interested in buying Scandinavian SAS if its owners put the loss-making airline up for sale, a company executive said in a newspaper interview.
'We are not buying SAS now. There are too many unions, too many fights and too much hidden debt. In addition, the main owners have not expressed will to sell,' Karsten Benz, chief of European sales and marketing at Lufhansa, was quoted as saying in Finnish newspaper Kauppalehti.
'But if SAS once came up for sale, surely we would be interested,' Benz added.
The idea of a takeover by Lufthansa has been a recurring theme as SAS, half owned by Denmark, Norway and Sweden, continued to struggle with losses after a series of costly restructuring plans.
(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Mike Nesbit) Keywords: LUFTHANSA SAS/ refile (jussi.rosendahl@thomsonreuters.com; +358-9-680 50 248; Reuters Messaging: jussi.rosendahl.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. 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.
'We are not buying SAS now. There are too many unions, too many fights and too much hidden debt. In addition, the main owners have not expressed will to sell,' Karsten Benz, chief of European sales and marketing at Lufhansa, was quoted as saying in Finnish newspaper Kauppalehti.
'But if SAS once came up for sale, surely we would be interested,' Benz added.
The idea of a takeover by Lufthansa has been a recurring theme as SAS, half owned by Denmark, Norway and Sweden, continued to struggle with losses after a series of costly restructuring plans.
(Reporting by Jussi Rosendahl; Editing by Mike Nesbit) Keywords: LUFTHANSA SAS/ refile (jussi.rosendahl@thomsonreuters.com; +358-9-680 50 248; Reuters Messaging: jussi.rosendahl.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. 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.
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