DBA Makes Offer for Olympic Airlines

German low-fare airline DBA, while appearing to be moving closer to a merger with rival Germania Express, has made an offer to buy Greek carrier Olympic Airlines, which is being privatized, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday, confirming a corresponding report in the business daily Handelsblatt. According to the DBA spokeswoman it is true that DBA's chairman Hans Rudolf Wöhrl "has made an offer" through his own holding company, Intro. Handelsblatt said a total of seven candidates had lined up to take part in the privatization of the struggling Greek airline. Investment bank Lazard, which is in charge of the privatization, had closed the bidding last Friday and would draw up a short list of candidates in the coming days. DBA, a former unit of British Airways, was acquired by Wöhrl in 2003 for a symbolic price of one euro. It hopes to post a profit in the current year ending March, after 12 years of losses. In Athens, Greek Transport Minister Michalis Liapis said Wednesday he was "relatively optimistic" about the chances of success for the privatization initiative, adding that "binding offers" would be accepted for the next month and a half.