BERLIN, Sept 14 — The German government has sold off its 20 per cent stake in Lufthansa acquired during the coronavirus pandemic, it said on Tuesday.

The state’s economic stabilisation fund (WSF), which saved Lufthansa from bankruptcy during the pandemic with a bailout package totalling €9 billion (RM40.4 billion), had progressively reduced its stake in recent years with the aim of offloading it completely by October of 2023.

It has now sold its last remaining shares to international investors in a block placement for €455 million, the fund said in a statement on Tuesday night.

It earned a total of €1.07 billion from selling its shares, yielding a €760 million profit from the investment.

"The government aid package successfully helped the business through the crisis,” it said.

Deutsche Bank DBKGn.DE, one of the global coordinators and bookrunners for the sale alongside Goldman Sachs GS.N, said earlier on Tuesday that the fund wanted to offer institutional investors around 74.4 million Lufthansa shares, corresponding to 6.2 per cent of the airline’s share capital.

Lufthansa shares closed down 1.5 per cent at €6.32 per share on Tuesday. — Reuters