* Air France-KLM shares down nearly 9%
* Air France confirms a bid, doesn't say if for all or part
of
Aigle Azur
* Budget carrier Aigle Azur put under bankruptcy protection
last
week
(Updates with Air France offer confirmation)
By Laurence Frost
PARIS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Shares in Air France-KLM
fell sharply on Monday after a French minister named Air France
as a bidder for bankrupt carrier Aigle Azur, which left 19,000
passengers stranded after abruptly halting operations.
The French unit confirmed it had bid for all or part of
Aigle Azur - without saying which - as rival Easyjet
announced it had expressed interest in some operations of the
budget carrier, which was placed under bankruptcy protection on
Sept. 2.
The Franco-Dutch carrier's stock had fallen as much as 9.6%
earlier in the day after junior transport minister Jean-Baptiste
Djebbari said the group "appears to want to make an offer" for
Aigle Azur.
The budget carrier's two biggest shareholders are China's
HNA Group, with around an 48% stake, and Brazilian entrepreneur
David Neeleman with a 32% holding.
Higher fuel costs and stiffer low-cost competition have led
to a wave of bankruptcies among smaller European airlines in the
past three years, including Air Berlin, Germania, British-based
Monarch, Latvia's Primera Air and Swiss SkyWork.
Aigle Azur's difficulties were compounded by its
over-expansion from medium-haul services focused on Algeria into
long-haul destinations such as Brazil.
The French state, keen to drum up interest and save Aigle
Azur's 1,200 jobs, had also flagged potential bids from Air
Caraibes parent Dubreuil Group and an investor group led by
Lionel Guerin, former head of Air France's Hop! unit.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday that a
"principal offer" for Aigle Azur was being considered. The
bankrupt carrier's works council was due to meet on Monday
afternoon to consider the offers received.
Government influence over Air France-KLM, in which France
holds a 14.3% stake, added to investor concern that had driven
its shares 8.7% lower by 1214 GMT, with one trader telling
Reuters the state was "likely to push them to get involved".
Officials turned to Air France-KLM as early as April, after
Aigle Azur sought help from a government agency, according to
financial daily Les Echos. Its interest was piqued after the
struggling carrier discussed selling take-off and landing slots
at Paris Orly to Spain's Vueling, the paper reported.
Air France has scrambled extra Algeria flights to help
repatriate the 13,000 Aigle Azur passengers still stranded by
the collapse. Most will have reached their destinations by the
end of the week, the junior transport minister said.
(Reporting by Patrick Vignal and Laurence Frost; Writing by
Richard Lough and Laurence Frost; Editing by Richard
Lough/Louise Heavens/Susan Fenton)