The Ethiopian government owned Ethiopian Airlines, says it has made a bid to the Nigerian government to take over Arik Air.
In February, Nigeria’s biggest airline Arik Air was taken over by the federal government via the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) due to the company’s huge debt profile, which was over N300 billion.
The government immediately dissolved the airline’s management team, and appointed a receiver-manager.
Speaking at the World Bank/IMF meetings in April, Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, said the government was speaking with some investors on the sale of the flagship airline.
She did not disclose the name of the investors, but said “it was a preliminary discussion. They just expressed interest in buying the airlines and we told them that we would look into it”.
Ethiopian’s managing director of international services, Esayas WoldeMariam, told CNN that the airline had made an offer, and was just waiting for the response of the government.
“We have outlined our terms and conditions to the Nigerian government and we are waiting to see if they agree. We are capable and desirous of handling the airline,” she said.
WoldeMariam did not specify details of the offer, but added that he expects to face competition for Arik from international airlines.