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LONDON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Travel groups Thomas Cook, TUI Travel, Deutsche Lufthansa andVirgin Atlantic have agreed to sell the majority of their stakesin The Airline Group, which owns a large share in Britain'sNational Air Traffic Services (NATS).
The four firms, along with British Airways, easyJet, Airline Company Limited and the retirement plan ofMonarch Airlines, jointly owned a 41.9 percent share in NATSthrough their stakeholdings in The Airline Group.
Thomas Cook and TUI Travel said in separate statements onTuesday that they had each agreed to sell the majority of theirinterests for 38 million pounds ($61.2 million) to Britishpension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS).
They said Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Virgin Atlantic had alsoagreed to sell the majority of their stakes on the same termsand at the same time. The combined shareholding being sold toUSS represents a non-controlling stake of 49.9 percent in theThe Airline Group.
Each seller would retain a small proportion of theirholding, while British Airways, easyJet, Airline Company Limitedand the retirement plan of Monarch Airlines will not be sellingtheir shares.
NATS, which handles around 5,300 flight movements a day, is49 percent owned by the British government which had previouslymulled the sale of part of its stake before deciding against itdue to its strategic importance.
The companies said they expect to complete the deals duringthe first quarter of 2014, which are subject to clearance fromthe European Commission.
