Maldives' oldest air transfer operator Trans Maldivian Airways is ahead in the race to for a management stake in cash-strapped SriLankan Airlines, according to Sri Lanka media reports.
According to Sri Lanka's Sunday Times newspaper Super Group Partners Company Ltd–a joint venture between Trans Maldivian Airways and the Singaporean ground-handling firm SATS–has scored highest among ten bidders.
The newspaper quoted a source having said that Super Group, which wants an 80 percent stake in SriLankan, has scored 68 marks.
The joint venture has reportedly offered a total investment of USD5 billion in the country, spread out over ten years. A billion out of this will go towards covering SriLankan’s existing debts.
“That is their total package, not just into the airline,” said a source who had examined the document was quoted in the paper.
Meanwhile, SriLankan is going ahead with its business plan amidst privatisation moves. The airline has terminated the leases on three new A350s.
TMA operating the world's largest seaplane fleet was bought off by the American equity fund Blackstone Group in 2013 along with the airline's main competitor Maldivian Air Taxi and merged both the airlines but retained the Trans Maldivian Airways brand name.