Actually, Condor wanted to complete her shielding process at the end of March. But on Monday (6 April) it became known that several creditors had lodged an appeal against the plan approved by the court in summary proceedings. Only on Thursday afternoon (9 April) did a spokeswoman for the judiciary then announce that the responsible chamber rejected the appeals. The protective shield plan is thus legally binding.
Condor must actually repay its loan of 380 million euros from the state development bank KfW by April 15. However, the holiday airline planned to meet this financial obligation after a takeover by the Lot parent company PGL. And this takeover is shaky, because the Corona crisis is also affecting the Polish state-owned company. As early as the end of March, it became known that PGL was now making high demands - possibly deliberately in order to get out of the purchase agreement.
Now the magazine Der Spiegel, citing people involved in the negotiations, writes that PGL would even demand money to give up Condor. Because only then could the holiday airline find a new buyer. However it concerns thereby probably rather a kind of poker game.
PGL therefore wants to have something in hand in case Condor should demand penalties if the deal does not come off. So the goal could be that both sides drop their potential claims.
First the state, then a new buyer?
A Condor spokeswoman said they were «still in constructive talks with PGL to jointly assess the impact of the Corona pandemic». In addition, the company had applied for state support that went beyond short-time work.
Should PGL actually withdraw from the purchase, it is conceivable that the KfW would step in with further loans. According to Spiegel, an assignment of the subscription rights by the Poles to KfW is also not excluded. This would then be a state participation in Condor, which has already been speculated about as a possible interim solution. The big question here is: how likely is it that after the Corona crisis a new buyer for the airline will be found in the foreseeable future?
