Denmark and Norway today said they were open to selling their stake in SAS Group, operator of Scandinavian Airlines, according to dpa. SAS, which is half-owned by Sweden, Denmark and Norway, last week reported a net loss of 2.9 billion kronor (393 million dollars) for 2009. At the same time it announced plans to raise money by selling shares in a rights issue. "We are open for a sale provided we can get a good price," Norwegian Trade and Industry Minister Trond Giske said in Friday's edition of the Aftenposten newspaper. Danish Finance Minister Claus Hjort Fredriksen said in a written comment to Danish news agency Ritzau that a possible sale would be assessed "if a situation arises where it makes economic sense." The Swedish government said Thursday that it intended to reduce its stake in the group when "opportune." Denmark and Norway each have a 14.3-per-cent stake in the group, while neighbouring Sweden has 21.4 per cent. The three governments said they have no immediate plans to sell off their stakes and that they planned to buy shares in the rights issue. Whether the rights issue will go ahead is set to be decided at an extraordinary general meeting April 7 and hinges on a deal with unions to save 500 million kronor, SAS said.
