Credit Suisse to advise on Czech airport sale

...the finance ministry said on Friday.

The government approved in mid-September a plan to convert the state-owned Prague Airport into a newly created joint stock company. By March it should discuss how to proceed. It wants to complete the sale by the end of next year.

"Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd. ... was selected to perform an analysis of desirability, extent and method of privatisation of the state's stake in the Letiste Praha (Prague Airport) joint stock company," the ministry said in a statement.

Government officials have said a stock market float was an option for the airport sale.

The centre-right government has been looking for privatisation revenues, mainly in order to finance road construction.

The airport had 11.6 million passengers last year and made a net profit of 972 million crowns ($53.79 million) ($49 million) on revenue of 5 billion crowns.

The airport's director Miroslav Dvorak was quoted as telling the daily Hospodarske Noviny in an interview on Friday that it had attracted interest from dozens of potential bidders, including major airport operators and financial investors. (Reporting by Marek Petrus, editing by Rory Channing)

($1=18.07 Czech Crown)

Keywords: CREDITSUISSE CZECH/

[PRAGUE/Reuters/Finance.cz]