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Bloomberg
South Africa isn’t just in talks with potential buyers of a stake in the country’s insolvent state-owned airline, it’s also seeking partners for subsidiaries such as low-cost airline Mango and catering unit Air Chefs.
The result will be a number of private-sector entities working with various parts of South African Airways (SAA) whenever it resumes operations, according to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan. The government had 31 expressions of interest in SAA and are currently whittling down the list, he said.
“At the moment we are not actually looking to raise a specific amount from the strategic-equity partners but rather the viability of their proposals,†he said in a phone interview.
The search for a partner for SAA is central to Gordhan’s plan to revive the airline a year after the company went into bankruptcy protection and nine months since it last operated a commercial flight.