ZEW President Achim Wambach on the Sale of Lufthansa Shares

Today, the German government’s Economic Stabilisation Fund (ESF) announced its intention to sell part of the shares it holds in Lufthansa. Professor Achim Wambach, president of ZEW Mannheim and member of the Monopolies Commission, explains:

“The announcement that the federal government will begin selling part of its shares in Lufthansa is a signal that the state will withdraw from the holding in the medium term. This is an important first step. The ESF, which holds the shares, is a crisis instrument aimed at supporting companies like Lufthansa that suffered a collapse during the COVID-19 crisis but have a good chance of recovery after the pandemic. Funding beyond an acute emergency situation, on the other hand, is undesirable and would also lead to distortions of competition in the respective markets. This first step should therefore be followed by others.”