PANALPINA AIMS TO ACQUIRE 12.1% SHARE OF LUXAIR

PANALPINA AIMS TO ACQUIRE 12.1% SHARE OF LUXAIR    Panalpina, the Swiss-based logistics and forwarding group, is in negotiations to acquire a 12.1-percent stake in the airline Luxair.
   Sale of the stake previously held by CLT-UFA, a company belonging to the RTL Group, would be subject to formal ratification by Luxair's board of directors and the approval of the Luxembourg government. The shareholders of Luxair have been looking for potential buyers in the stake since July.
   The Panalpina Group is a major customer of Luxair and its affiliate company, Cargolux. Through subsidiary ASB-Air, Panalpina has been a major user of the Cargocenter at Luxembourg's Findel Airport for more than 30 years. Panalpina moves a 'high proportion' of its air freight to and from Europe through the Cargocenter and the hub plays a key role in Panalpina/ASB-Air's global air-freight network.
   As part of the cooperation, Luxair will handle Panalpina freight at the group's CargoCity Sud logistics center now under construction at Frankfurt airport.
   The agreement with Luxair would 'be an important prerequisite for optimizing its air-freight hub in Luxembourg and further develop strategic cooperation between the two partners,' Panalpina said.