BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government has submitted a new formal bid to acquire Budapest Airport and its owners have decided to enter formal discussions, its majority shareholder AviAlliance said on Wednesday.
Since nationalist Orban took power in 2010, his government has boosted Hungarian ownership in energy, banking, telecoms and the media, and has been planning to buy the airport for years.
In 2021, his government submitted a non-binding offer to buy the airport, but the process was later halted amid high inflation and volatility in global financial markets.
"We can confirm that the Hungarian government has made a new formal offer to acquire Budapest Airport Zrt," AviAlliance, which owns a 55.44% stake in the airport, said in an emailed response to questions.
"The current owners have reviewed the offer in the interest of their funds and decided to enter into formal discussions, which are expected to last several months," it said.
Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday that Orban's government has started talks to buy a 51% stake in the airport. The government said negotiations about the acquisition were "ongoing", without going into further detail.
In June, Economic Development Minister Marton Nagy said Hungary was looking for a "friendly" co-investor to acquire Budapest Airport, with Budapest in talks with several airport operators, one of them in Qatar.
Nagy then also said Orban's government was seeking a majority stake, but the issue was open to negotiation.