A German sovereign wealth fund is to sell up to a quarter of its holding in the airline Lufthansa, a stake equivalent to 5 percent of the company, Dow Jones reports.

The divestment will be carried out for a period of several weeks, and the measure is being taken as a consequence of Lufthansa's "successful crisis management" during the pandemic, according to a press release from the state fund.

The state fund contributed a stabilization package to the airline during the crisis, a package worth 6 billion euros. In total, Lufthansa received 9 billion euros in state funds to survive the pandemic. In return, the state's ownership in the airline increased, a holding that is now being reduced.

Lufthansa's shares were down 4 percent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Monday, clearly more than several of the airline's European competitors such as IAG and Air France-KLM.

Source: Nyhetsbyrån Direkt