Romania Seeks Partners for Struggling Tarom Airline

Romania's cash-strapped national airline, Tarom, is to open preliminary talks with several companies interested in restructuring and taking a significant stake in the state-controlled company.

"The state will keep a 51-per-cent stake if the investor is not from the European Union but will sell a majority stake if the future owner is a European company," Prime Minister Victor Ponta elaborated. "Negotiations have kicked off, but no agreement has been yet reached," he added.

Media reports say that Turkish Airlines is interested in a strategic cooperation partnership with Tarom. Last month, Ponta led a delegation to the Middle East where he reportedly held talks with the CEO of Qatar Airways.

Analysts say Tarom is a company with a good regional perspective, but which needs restructuring if it is to be returned to profit.

After undergoing some restructuring already it is set to reach break next year having generated losses of 100 million lei (22.2 million euro) in 2014 and 300 million lei in 2013 .

In 2012, Tarom named its first manager from the private sector, hoping that he might make the company profitable once more.

Under a precautionary IMF agreement signed in 2011, Romania pledged to eliminate all of Tarom's arrears, undertake cost-reducing measures and increase its revenue.