After disasters, Malaysia Airlines weighs government ownership

Observers speculated that a name change might be in order for Malaysia Airlines following its two huge disasters this year, but what’s really happening is potentially much bigger.

Malaysia’s state investment company, Khazanah Nasional, which already owns 69 percent of the company, has offered to buy out all the airline’s minority shareholders at a price of 8 cents a share, which is actually almost 30 percent higher than the average stock price over the past three months. The whole deal would amount to $429 million.

Here’s Malaysia Airlines’ statement about the proposal:

We have received notice of Khazanah’s intentions to take full ownership and delist Malaysia Airlines. Our Board of Directors will be deliberating this proposal and an official response from the company will be issued later. During this period, our business operations remains [sic] unchanged.