Hong Kong’s Cathay aims to buy back HK$6.96 billion stake held by Qatar Airways

Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways plans to buy back all of its shares owned by Qatar Airways for HK$6.96 billion (US$896 million) after the Middle Eastern airline said it wanted to sell the 9.57 per cent stake.

The Hong Kong carrier said on Wednesday night that Qatar Airways would sell all 643.07 million shares it held, at HK$10.8374 each, subject to Cathay’s independent shareholders’ approval.

Cathay said the Doha-based carrier approached it and expressed its intention to sell all of its shareholding in the company.

The price represents a 3.9 per cent discount to Wednesday’s close of HK$11.28 or a 0.5 per cent premium to the average closing price of HK$10.78 for the last 30 trading days.

Cathay said it planned to fund the deal with internal resources and existing credit lines.

“The buy-back reflects our strong confidence in the future of the Cathay Group and underscores our commitment to the development of the Hong Kong international aviation hub,” chairman Patrick Healy said.