Air Malta disputes union claims of €50 million price tag on Selmun hotel

Air Malta has denied reports that a UK investor is offering the national airline €50 million for the Selmun Palace Hotel to purchase the subsidiary company as a going concern.

The airline was referring to reports by MaltaToday, that the General Workers Union knew of a UK buyer who would invest up to €55 million into both the sale and the development of the hotel.

Air Malta said it has never received any offers in the region of €50 million, although the original report never stated that the buyer made a €50 million offer but that the money would go into both the purchase of the company and subsequent development – not exclusively into the sale itself.

In its statement, Air Malta reiterated that “over the past years it made several formal attempts to sell the Selmun Palace Hotel as a going concern but these efforts were not successful. Since the last official attempt to sell the hotel fell through in April, the airline has not received formal offers by prospective investors.”

Air Malta said that there are currently three investors that have expressed “informal interest” in acquiring Selmun Palace Hotel and the new board of directors of Air Malta is “actively working to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for prospective bidders.”

Air Malta however did not say when these RFPs would be issued, or why they have not been issued so far, despite government having announced the third attempt to sell off the hotel over three months ago.

Air Malta said it is in the best interest of Air Malta that the process is formalised through the issuing of an RFP, and that prospective bidders formalise their interest by submitting a proposal to the board of directors. “One of the conditions that will be made in the RFP is that prospective buyers will be bound to use the premises as a hotel,” it added.

Air Malta said the board of directors of the national airline “is determined to maximise the value and proceeds of the sale as such revenue is critically needed and forms an integral part of the restructuring plan of the airline.”

Referring to the redundancies of the 58 employees employed at the Selmun Palace Hotel, Air Malta said it is has followed and will continue to follow the correct procedures in line with the law.