The South African government has sold a 51% stake in the struggling South African Airways (SAA) to Takatso consortium.
Public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan told journalists last Friday that the consortium, which includes Pan-African investor group Harith Global Partners and aviation group Global Aviation, will initially commit more than 3 billion rand ($221 million) to resuscitate the operations of SAA.
The South African government will retain a 49% stake.
"The objective of bringing in an equity partner to SAA is to augment it with the required technical, financial and operational expertise to ensure a sustainable, agile and viable South African airline," said the minister.
He said SAA’s subsidiaries, such as Air Chefs, SAA Technical and low-cost airline Mango, will be evaluated.
SAA had been under bankruptcy protection since December 2019, however, the COVID-19 pandemic was the final nail in the entity’s proverbial coffin as its operations were suspended in September 2020 when funds dried up.
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