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Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday, 20 January 2017 00:12 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Chathuri Dissanayake
In an unprecedented move, PeaceAirways, one of the bidders shortlisted for a 49% stake in national carrier SriLankan Airlines, yesterday went public with its proposal, alleging moves within the Government to “hide the bid”.
In a bizarre media briefing where he claimed that he had a “bad feeling” about the bidding process which prompted him to go public, PeaceAirways Chairman Gamini Wethasinghe also stated that the bidding process had not allowed him to carry out the due diligence usually mandatory for such a deal. 
Wethasinghe also said that the step to go public with the bid was to ensure that everyone was aware of his bid for the stake in SriLankan. Wethasinghe said it was unclear of the progress being made on the evaluations of the bids, but claimed that he had been asked, along with the other bidders, to provide a “swiftcode” for fund transfers.
“We hear all kinds of stories; some people are going after other airlines. We don’t know what is going on,” he stated.
The company, which does not currently hold a licence to operate an airline after losing it in 2000, revealed that they were ready to invest $ 5.5 billion in the debt-ridden national carrier and purchase 25 additional aircraft. PeaceAirways has also made a separate bid for Mattala Airport, which Wethasinghe assessed to be a “superb airport” to operate Airbus A380s, adding that he would buy six aircraft from Malaysian Airlines to operate his airline PeaceAirways from Mattala.
The company, which held a license from 1992-2000, claims they were unable to operate from Sri Lanka at the time due to a clause in the Emirates and Air Lanka Agreement. Wethasinghe was not forthcoming with the number of aircraft his airline owned, saying that it had invested in 10 planes flying to different destinations, noting that PeaceAirways flew to Jeddah and an Australian destination he was unable to name. PeaceAirways claims to have operated a domestic aircraft in Sri Lanka in partnership with the Sri Lanka Air Force as well.
He also asserted that “when” PeaceAirways wins the bid for SriLankan Airlines, he will reinstate all Mihin Air staff who lost their jobs while also promising not to lay off any SriLankan employees. When asked how he could make such statements without knowing the exact financial or human resource status of the national career, he claimed to have conferred with Lufthansa Consulting, which has provided consultation services to SriLankan Airlines before.
PeaceAirways in their bid has listed Lufthansa Consulting as their consultation firm on the bid as well. Wethasinghe claimed that Lufthansa Consulting was able to advise his company on SriLankan even before carrying out due diligence as they had previous knowledge of the matter.
However, Wethasinghe was unable to specify who his investment partners were but emphasised that he had the “money in Switzerland” as PeaceAirways has partnered a Swiss company.
