- Title: German government to bailout domestic Thomas Cook subsidairy Condor
- Date: 24th September 2019
- Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 24, 2019) (REUTERS) GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER PETER ALTMAIER ARRIVING TO GIVE STATEMENT MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER, PETER ALTMAIER, SAYING: "This evening I am able to tell you that the government today decided to provide a bulk insolvency loan of 380 million euros to Condor. We made the decision after an intensive and careful evaluation with the relevant ministries including the Foreign Ministry. The bulk loan will be awarded by the KfW (German state owned development bank) and will be guaranteed to a 100 percent by the government." JOURNALIST TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER, PETER ALTMAIER, SAYING: "I said this before, Condor got into difficulties after the parent company was forced to declare insolvency. This means that the difficulties now facing Condor in Germany are not home-made. Condor is a profitable company and that is why our decision was taken based on economic factors and not political criteria." ALTMAIER'S HANDS ALTMAIER TALKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER, PETER ALTMAIER, SAYING: "With this decision we have the opportunity to permanently save many of the jobs of the almost 5,000 employees. Roughly 240,000 Condor passengers from Germany are currently abroad and with this decision we are able to bring these passengers home under acceptable conditions. And the most important thing is that Condor now has the chance to survive but also to be economically successful." ALTMAIER DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER, PETER ALTMAIER, SAYING: "I am convinced that even in the case of this bulk loan that was agreed to after the most careful evaluation that there is a very high chance that the loan will be paid back." PEOPLE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN ECONOMY MINISTER, PETER ALTMAIER, SAYING: (on the size of the loan) "It is linked to just what degree and in what sums Condor is affected by the situation in Britain and how long the resolution will take and it looks, very unfortunately, like Condor will not be able to fully emancipate itself and that is why the sum they needed was higher, based on this eventual outcome." ALTMAIER ADDRESSING MEDIA
- Embargoed: 8th October 2019 20:45
- Keywords: Condor Thomas Cook bankruptcy German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier bailout
- Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
- City: BERLIN, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Company News Markets,Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA001AY0N0Y5
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Germany has decided to guarantee a bridging loan of 380 million euros to Condor, the German airline owned by insolvent British travel operator Thomas Cook, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Tuesday.
"Condor is a profitable company and therefore our decision was based on economic factors, not on political criteria," said Altmaier, adding the decision meant that many of the roughly 5,000 workers would be able to keep their jobs.
Altmaier added that the state of Hesse, where Condor is based, would participate in the financial aid, as previously reported by Reuters.
The sum of the loan which was based on the anticipated fallout from Thomas Cook.
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