Wednesday December 3, 10:42 PM
Argentine lawmakers agree to seize back Aerolineas
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BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - Argentine lawmakers Wednesday approved a draft law to seize back the country's largest airline Aerolineas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral from its owners, the Spanish group Marsans.
The draft law designates the two companies a "public utility" and was approved by a vote of 152 in favor and 84 against with one abstention. The bill now goes before the Senate for approval.
The move is the latest in a long-running dispute with Spain over the fate of the embattled airlines, which have racked up debts of around 890 million dollars.
The Argentine government and Marsans signed a deal in July to re-nationalize Aerolineas and its domestic subsidiary Austral, which Marsans bought into seven years ago for a symbolic dollar.
The agreement called for a third party to assess the airline's value if Argentina and the Madrid-based firm failed to agree on a price by mid-November.
But Argentina has not sought a third-party valuation and an Argentine parliamentary commission instead recommended that Argentina simply expropriate both airlines, arguing they were worthless.
Argentine Transport Secretary Ricardo Jaime said an Argentine court had valued Aerolineas at minus 600 million dollars (475 million euros) because of debts the troubled airline had run up since being privatized in 1990.
But Marsans, which holds a controlling 94.4 percent in the carrier, said a study by Credit Suisse bank showed the value of the airline and Austral is between 250 million and 450 million dollars.
The Argentine government, which holds a five-percent stake in the airline, was forced to inject 183.5 million dollars into Aerolineas this year to keep it operating and pay its 9,000 employees.
Marsans has been sharply criticized for its management of the airlines, and 28 of their 70 planes are mothballed on the tarmac.
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