SA Express on the verge of being sold to private buyer - Public Enterprises Dept
The struggling state-owned airline is currently under liquidation, but the department has identified a buyer who’s in the process of taking ownership of the airline’s assets.
CAPE TOWN - The Department of Public Enterprises on Wednesday said SA Express was on the verge of being sold to a private buyer.
The struggling state-owned airline is currently under liquidation, but the department has identified a buyer who’s in the process of taking ownership of the airline’s assets.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has on Wednesday briefed a parliamentary committee on the current state of SOEs like Eskom and SAA.
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The purchase price for SA Express is pegged at exactly R50 million.
This will be payable as a bank guarantee, which would be offset by the sale of assets with the balance being payable and recovered from the bank guarantee.
The department's Director general Kgathatso Tlhakudi said he hoped the new private owners would be able to make it competitive locally.
“And the great development here is that these buyers include ex-employees of SA Express.”
A public online auction for the airline’s assets closed on 18 November.
The total sale amounted to over R24 million and the remaining assets will be auctioned off at a reduced rate at a later stage.
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