The government of Estonia declined to buy a minority stake in airBaltic (BT, Riga), after the government of Latvia, the carrier's majority shareholder, sent a formal offer with terms identical to those previously offered to Lufthansa Group.
"We received an offer from the Latvian Ministry of Transport to acquire up to a 10% stake in airBaltic for EUR14 million euros (USD16.5 million). The offer was the same for both Lithuania and Lufthansa," Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis said during a press conference, quoted by the public broadcaster ERR.
The minister cited the uncertainty concerning airBaltic's financial situation as a reason behind the decision not to invest.
However, Estonia is keen to support airBaltic's presence at Tallinn Lennart Meri and offered to freeze airport fees at the airport for the next "few" years - a move that would benefit all carriers. ch-aviation data shows that the Latvian carrier is the biggest operator at the Estonian gateway with a 38.1% market share by departure capacity.
Leis disclosed that Estonia and Lithuania were offered two options for acquiring a minority stake: to buy it directly in July 2025 or purchase it during the IPO at a later date. However, the government could not make a long-term commitment due to the uncertainty surrounding the IPO launch.
The Lithuanian government has yet to formally respond to Latvia's offer. The exact terms have not been disclosed.
Lufthansa acquired a 10% stake in airBaltic in January 2025.
