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Germany's Lufthansa is to sell new shares to raise 752 million euros. The airline says the money will go towards the 15 new Airbus double-decker A380s that it has ordered and to pay for the airport infrastructure for them.
But some analysts were suspicious about the sudden nature of the share issue and thought Lufthansa might actually be raising money for acquisitions. They said that Lufthansa, with revenue last year of nearly 16 billion euros, is financially strong enough that it did not need to resort to issuing new shares to cover the cost of introducing the planes.
Lufthansa denied it is planning any acquisitions and a source said it just wants to strengthen its financial position and make sure it has a fleet that supports it core long-haul business.
The airline's Chief Financial Officer Karl-Ludwig Klay said they had been planning this for months.
But some analysts were suspicious about the sudden nature of the share issue and thought Lufthansa might actually be raising money for acquisitions. They said that Lufthansa, with revenue last year of nearly 16 billion euros, is financially strong enough that it did not need to resort to issuing new shares to cover the cost of introducing the planes.
Lufthansa denied it is planning any acquisitions and a source said it just wants to strengthen its financial position and make sure it has a fleet that supports it core long-haul business.
The airline's Chief Financial Officer Karl-Ludwig Klay said they had been planning this for months.
