Red Wings is in talks to sell a 74% stake to Ilyushin Finance (IFC) the CEO of IFC, Alexander Rubtsov, confirmed to the Ria Novosti news service. “A due diligence of the airline's business has already been completed, with the deal now awaiting approval. This issue will be considered by the IFC’s Board of Directors during their meeting at the end of July 2015,” a source close to the deal Rubtsov said.
IFC will acquire its stake through a debt-conversion transaction for an undisclosed value.
GHP Group purchased Red Wings for 1 Rouble (USD 0.0318) in April 2013 from Alexander Lebedev. Red Wings now has a fleet of three Sukohi SuperJets and nine Tu-204s all of which are on lease from IFC.
The deal is more a necessity than anything else for IFC and it ensures the safe return of its aircraft should anything critical happen to the airline.