On Monday, the supervisory board of the state-owned Carinthian investment management unanimously voted in favor of exercising the call option on Klagenfurt Airport. The green light was also given for the intended further capital increase.

The corresponding decisions of the K-BV are to be confirmed within the state government shortly. The city of Klagenfurt will hold a special municipal council. In this one wants to release the funds that are to be injected into the airport threatened by insolvency. The funds are to be paid into an escrow account this week.

Due to the recent capital increase, which is carried out by the minority shareholders, Lilihill loses the majority through dilution. At the moment it doesn't look like the private company will participate. The so-called call option, which was repeatedly rejected last year with the votes of the SPÖ, is now also to be drawn. However, a lawsuit is also inevitable, because Lilihill publicly threatened that they would go to court.

The events of the last few weeks are likely to have led to a rethink in the SPÖ, which is the governor. Lilihill initially called for a capital increase, but after the minority shareholders had already paid in, the condition was that the call option would be waived and, on top of that, that the airport's supervisory board would wave a contract with Liliair through. Politicians didn't agree to that. In April 2023, wages and salaries could not be transferred on time. Only after receipt of the capital increase made by the minority shareholders were these paid out. The funds have not yet been paid into the commercial register. According to K-BV boss Payer, this should be refused by the airport management, which is why they will go to court. A spokesman said in April 2023 that an "accounting error" was the cause of the delay in transferring wages.

To date, Lilihill has not yet transferred its share of the capital increase. The situation seems to be getting worse and after the resignation of four supervisory board members, the consolation followed that the wages and salaries will be transferred by May 5, 2023. Instead of money, there was again a holdout letter with blame, because now it says that the payments should flow until May 15, 2023. Works council and union are massively upset. The public sector now wants to use the express procedure to avoid the impending insolvency and bring the airport back under the control of the city of Klagenfurt and the state of Carinthia.

Initially, this will be accomplished with an amount in the millions of euros that the two minority shareholders will invest this week. This results in a dilution of Lilihill's majority interest. Then Deputy Governor Martin Gruber (ÖVP) wants to immediately replace the management. In the next step, the call option is to be exercised so that Lilihill will be completely removed from the circle of shareholders. To what extent the latter company can delay this through legal action is completely open.