By Anshuman Daga
Indonesia's Lion Air Group is in talks with Qantas Airways Ltd about buying the Australian carrier's stake in the Singapore-based affiliate of its budget airline Jetstar, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The talks to buy out Qantas' 49 percent stake in Jetstar Asia Airways, the Singapore affiliate, began a few months ago and are still at an early stage, the person said, declining to be identified because the matter was confidential.
Any purchase would be subject to approval from the Singapore regulators, the source added. The value of any potential deal is unclear.
A Qantas spokesman declined comment on the matter, saying it was "speculation." Jetstar Asia and Lion Air Group also declined to comment. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore had no immediate comment.
Any potential sale would help the bottom line of Qantas, which saw stiff competition at home and overseas pushing it deep into the red in the six months ended Dec. 31.
In February, Qantas said it had shed staff, slashed spending and sold gaz-guzzling planes as part of its most radical shake-up since it was privatised 20 years ago. It has also halted the expansion of Jetstar, all steps aimed at convincing the Australian government that it is worthy of the state assistance it says it desperately needs.
Lion Air, Indonesia's largest privately run carrier, is one of the world's fastest-growing airline groups, with more than 500 aircraft on order.
Chief Executive Rusdi Kirana told Reuters earlier this year he aimed to have 1,000 planes operating by 2030 and that he was toying with the idea of building his own airport that would have a private road and a complex for diplomatic staff and families, as well as a concert hall.
Jetstar Asia, whose majority shareholder is an investment vehicle controlled by Singapore travel agency tycoon Dennis Choo, is the biggest unit of Jetstar, flying to more than 20 destinations including the Southeast Asian tourist hotspots of Bali, Phuket and Hanoi. It operates 19 aircraft.
Choo did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment and his secretary said he was traveling outside of Singapore.
According to a Qantas statement, Jetstar Asia flew 2 million passengers in the six months ending December 2013, up 14.5 percent from the year-ago period. Load factors eased to 78.8 percent from 78.1 percent.
Qantas did not give a detailed breakdown of the financials of Jetstar's affiliates, but overall, the Jetstar group swung to an underlying operating loss in the six months ending December 2013, with Qantas saying competitive pressures, especially in Southeast Asia, were among the factors behind the weak results.
