Now it is becoming more interesting, these are not the worst kind of investors:
Wizz Air Secures Investment from Indigo Partners
Wizz Air, the new European low fare airline announced yesterday that Indigo Partners LLC, a U.S. airline private equity fund, has agreed to invest €20 million in the carrier. The agreement also includes raising an additional €20 million from European private investors.
Indigo Partners was established in late 2002 as a private equity investment vehicle focused on the air transportation industry. Its principals, Bill Franke and Steve Johnson, are experienced in the airline and airline finance sectors and, most recently, were founders of Tiger Airways, a low-cost new-entrant carrier based in Singapore.
Bill Franke said: “We think the Wizz Air low fares model is a long overdue answer to the enormous demand in Hungary and Southern Poland for affordable air travel and will underscore recent Eastern European business and financial successes. The timing of the opportunity couldn’t be better as the key markets that Wizz Air expects to serve enter a new phase of history and become part of the European Union. We are excited about this opportunity.”
Wizz Air based in Budapest, Hungary and Katowice, Poland, begins service May 19. The proposed investment will close by the end of July 2004, assuming all conditions are met.