Air Jamaica Denies Sold to Spirit

Air Jamaica privatization committee chairman Dennis Lalor is rejecting a report in local newspaper the Jamaica Gleaner that the airline has been sold to Indigo Partners and Oaktree Capital, owners of low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines. In the letter, which LatinFinance has obtained, Lalor says the Gleaner story is “misleading.” He also says that the privatization committee has made a recommendation regarding a transaction, but that a sale has not yet taken place. Besides Spirit’s owners, other rumored bidders are Caribbean Airlines and tour operator Thomas Cook. Since March, the IFC has been assisting the airline, which has more than $600m in outstanding loans, in identifying prospective buyers.