Stakeholders boost prospect of SAS sale

SAS, the Scandinavian airline, moved closer on the 19 February 2010 to being put up for sale when Denmark and Norway joined Sweden in saying they were willing to offload their stakes in the troubled carrier.

SAS, which suffered net losses of nearly SKr3bn in 2009, has long been touted as a potential target for Lufthansa. But the German carrier played down speculation over a possible bid, saying it was focused on integrating recent acquisitions such as Austrian Airlines and British Midland. Air France-KLM, widely viewed as the other most logical buyer, declined to comment but has in the past dismissed talk of a bid.