Government Sells State Assets to Purchase Budapest Airport
Government Raises Over 700 Million Euros from Sale of State-Owned Assets
The recent sale of state-owned assets has allowed the government to raise over 700 million euros, which will be used to finance the purchase of Liszt Ferenc International operator Budapest Airport, the economic development ministry announced on Friday.
According to the ministry, the state recently divested its stakes in Erste Bank Hungary and Yettel Magyarország, while also reducing its holdings in the local businesses of Vienna Insurance Group from 45 percent to 10 percent.
The sale of 66.9 percent stakes in the Magyar Posta insurance businesses is currently in progress, and a contract could potentially be signed in the spring of 2024, the ministry added.
The ministry described the purchase of the airport’s operator as the “most complex deal since the fall of communism,” but also stated that negotiations were progressing well and that the parties were “very close to a final agreement.”
During a government information session on Thursday, Prime Minister Orbán mentioned that only technical details remained to be sorted out regarding the purchase of Budapest Airport, and that the transaction could be announced at any time, according to turizmus.com.
In addition to this news, it was also announced that a new Ryanair flight will be launched from Budapest to another European city. More details can be found in the link provided. Furthermore, there will be major changes to the Budapest airport shuttle 100E in January, with details available in another article.
