The Department of Public Enterprise (DPE) has finally signed an agreement for the sale of 51% of SAA to strategic equity partner, Takatso Consortium, says the Ministry in the Presidency following a Cabinet meeting on February 23.
The signing took place after eight months of negotiations between the two parties, due diligence and evaluation by the consortium.
It is still subject to approval by various regulatory bodies.
When the winning bid was announced in June 2021, Minister Pravin Gordhan said the sale would draw a line in the sand between the old and the new. “While Government will continue to take responsibility for the debts of the old SAA, the new SAA will not have any further reliance on the fiscus,” said the Minister. The deal stated from the outset that the consortium would pay across more than R3bn (€173.5m) in operational cash over a three-year period, while government funds were to be used to settle SAA's historical debts.
Meanwhile, the airline is believed to be getting R1.8bn (€104.1m) from the SA government in the 2022/2023 financial year, the balance of the R16.4bn (€948.5m) reserved for SAA in the 2020 Budget Review, earmarked to settle state‐guaranteed debt and interest on debt.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, in tabling the budget on Wednesday, February 23, indicated that there would be no more state funding for SAA in his current budget or coming budgets.
