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* New bid from aviation exec needs state loan
* Short deadlines sealed easyJet exit -source
(Updates with easyJet withdrawal, adds detail)
By Laurence Frost
PARIS, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM and
easyJet withdrew competing offers for Aigle Azur on
Thursday after missing an overnight court deadline to improve
their bids to acquire part of the collapsed budget airline's
operations and staff.
An Air France spokeswoman confirmed it had decided against
submitting an expected joint offer with long-haul niche carrier
Air Caraibes because "our conditions for doing so weren't met".
EasyJet said it had also pulled out but remains committed to
France and its operations at Paris Orly airport.
Aigle Azur, the biggest shareholders of which are China's
HNA Group and Brazilian entrepreneur David Neeleman, has
suffered in the wake of a botched long-haul expansion.
Now the withdrawal of three major bidders delivers a blow to
government-backed efforts to sell off parts of Aigle Azur's
business and save a large proportion of its 1,150 jobs.
The airline's unfolding bankruptcy is the latest among
smaller European airlines struggling to contend with higher fuel
costs and stiff low-cost competition.
The privately held carrier, founded in 1946 to serve Algeria
and other North African routes, was granted protection from
creditors this month and grounded its fleet of 11 Airbus jets
within days, stranding about 19,000 passengers.
FAST-CHANGING
Lionel Guerin, a former Air France executive who had tabled
and then withdrawn an offer, has submitted a new bid that
requires a 15 million euro ($16.6 million) French government
loan, according to French news site La Tribune https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/services/transport-logistique/aigle-azur-air-france-et-dubreuil-se-retirent-guerin-revient-828442.html,
which first reported Air France's withdrawal.
Air France, easyJet and other bidders are attracted by Aigle
Azur's valuable take-off and landing slots at Orly as well as
flying rights to foreign destinations, which become harder or
impossible to acquire piecemeal under liquidation.
But absorbing Aigle Azur operations would have required Air
France to negotiate a complex deal with its own unions within
days, waiving internal rules that bar it from granting any
senior or flight captain roles to new hires.
EasyJet also pulled out because it believed the deadlines
were too short for an adequate assessment of the business and
acquisition risks, a source briefed on the decision said.
During the bankruptcy proceedings it emerged that Aigle
Azur's debts amounted to 148 million euros - more than
previously estimated and equating to about half its 2018
revenue.
Transport Minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari remains in contact
with potential buyers and their unions in a "fast-changing
situation", a French official said, adding that bidders can
legally cancel any withdrawal within 48 hours.
Reuters was unable to contact Guerin, and a spokeswoman for
Air Caraibes parent Dubreuil Group did not respond to requests
for comment.
The Evry commercial court near Paris had ordered Aigle
Azur's liquidation under a "going concern" process that buys
more time for a potential rescue. Hearings resume on Sept. 23,
with liquidation scheduled four days later.
Air France shares were up 0.1% at 9.12 euros by 1553 GMT,
while easyJet was little changed.
($1 = 0.9052 euros)
(Reporting by Laurence Frost
Writing by Benoit Van Overstraeten
Editing by Alexander Smith and David Goodman)
