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The sale to IAG, which had been in exclusive talks for the
airline, is the final chapter in the demise of Air Berlin, the
No. 2 German air carrier that previously owned Niki and filed
for insolvency earlier this year.
IAG said Niki would become part of the low-cost carrier Vueling
and would be incorporated in Austria, employing 740 of Niki's
1,000 former employees. Assets include 15 A320 aircraft and
slots at airports including Vienna, Dusseldorf, Munich, Palma
and Zurich.
"Niki was the most financially viable part of Air Berlin, and
its focus on leisure travel means it's a great fit with
Vueling," said IAG's chief executive, Willie Walsh.
Niki filed for insolvency earlier this month after Germany's
Lufthansa <LHAG.DE> backed out of a deal to buy its assets on
competition concerns, grounding the fleet and stranding
thousands of passengers.
Niki's administrators had been racing to find a buyer for its
assets before it loses its takeoff and landing slots, its most
attractive asset.
"Niki is getting a financially strong partner with a long-term
development concept," said Lucas Floether, Niki's insolvency
administrator. The deal should close in February, he said.
The former Formula One champion Niki Lauda founded the airline
in 2003. It was fully acquired by Air Berlin at the end of 2011,
according to the company's website, but kept the name.
Lauda made a bid to repurchase Niki, along with several others,
but eventually lost out to IAG.
Air Berlin, beloved among Germans for its flights to the holiday
island Mallorca and for the chocolate hearts it gave out after
each flight, filed for administration in August. A government
loan kept its planes in the air during negotiations on breaking
it up.
Air Berlin agreed to sell a large part of its airline assets to
Lufthansa. It also clinched a deal with Britain's easyJet
<EZJ.L> for some operations at Berlin Tegel.
(Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Larry King)
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