In October 2021, Frankfurt-Hahn Airport filed for insolvency, and efforts to attract new interested investors went underway to save the airport. Then in June last year, the insolvency administrator announced Frankfurt-based entity Swift Conjoy as the leading candidate for the airport business. But after delays and discussions, it seems like Frankfurt-Hahn Airport is back on sale as the deal with Swift Conjoy has fallen through.

The transaction with Swift Conjoy was incomplete

For context, although the official amount was never fully disclosed, aside from purchasing the airport Swift Conjoy would have to invest millions in maintaining flight operations in the long term before profits are seen again. But of course, when the insolvency administrator Jan Markus Plathner first announced that Swift Conjoy was the leading candidate to buy over Frankfurt-Hahn airport, he certainly had no doubts about the seriousness of the investor.

However, months of delays in payment and discussions highlighted Swift Conjoy's somewhat hesitant behavior. Even to today, the administrator emphasizes that the company is yet to transfer the agreed purchase sum, rendering the sale incomplete. While the reasons were never stated, some investors within Swift Conjoy might have backed out, perhaps because they felt uncomfortable with the significant investment required.

Whatever the exact reason is, Swift Conjoy is no longer the leading candidate for the sale of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. This also means that the airfield is back on sale again in less than a year, albeit a new buyer may already be in line as the insolvency administrator has been actively negotiating with various new parties.

Photo: Markus Mainka | Shutterstock

A Russian billionaire could be next in line

One of these new parties is a company called NR Holding, the other leading candidate in the previous bid for the insolvent airport before being outbid by Swift Conjoy last year. Owned by the Russian billionaire, pharmaceutical entrepreneur, and owner of Germany's Nurburgring motor racing track Viktor Kharitonin, NR Holding has already signed a notarized contract for a transaction price of approximately €20 million ($21.47 million).

And since Kharitonin is not subjected to the ongoing sanctions, the company has already deposited this sum of money into a legal holding account, and the chairman of the board at NR Holding, Michael Lemler, confirms the signing as he said:

"We have concluded a contract. However, the approval of the contract is subjected to various conditions, such as the creditors' meeting scheduled to take place on Tuesday. The Federal Ministry of Economics will also need to approve the purchase. "

But besides the creditors' meeting, NR Holdings faces other obstacles, such as a competing unnamed company that has also concluded its own purchase agreement with the airport's insolvency administrators. According to Plathner, both deals are subject to strict conditions and further decisions from the creditors, and only one purchase agreement will eventually be executed.

Photo:  calflier001 via Wikimedia Commons

Bottom line

With the creditors' meeting scheduled to take place on February 7th, the anticipation for which company will win this new bid for Frankfurt-Hahn airport grows as the hours tick down. Hopefully, whichever company's contract gets executed will remain smooth throughout the whole transaction, as it would be a pity to see the sale of the small airport falling through yet again.