The takeover of the ailing Austrian Airlines Group by Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG was completed today, ending months of negotiations and marking a new start for the Alpine republic's flagship carrier, according to AP. Officials formally sealed the deal at Vienna's international airport. «Today marks the conclusion of the privatization of Austrian Airlines,» said Peter Michaelis, the head of Austria's privatization agency, at a news conference. «It was unquestionably hard work but we can now say it was worth it _ firstly for AUA but ultimately for Austria.» Last week, the European Commission green-lighted the roughly ¤366,000 ($523,000) bid for about 42 percent of the Austrian government's shares in Austrian and also approved a ¤500 million ($715 million) government restructuring program, which Lufthansa has said in the past would be necessary to reduce Austrian's debt. The Cologne-based Lufthansa, which is now Europe's largest airline by sales, had also made a ¤166 million ($237 million) offer for the free floating Austrian shares. In total, Lufthansa said the merger means it will hold more than 90 percent of Austrian shares.
