The Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) may soon have a new owner according to the Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri, which says that the governments of Denmark, Norway and Sweden have actively begun investigating a sale of the troubled group.

The three countries jointly own 50.4 per cent of SAS.

The Swedish government has previously said that it is prepared to reduce its holding in SAS, while the Norwegian Parliament has given a mandate to the government to sell its holding.

According to Dagens Industri, the recent bankruptcy of SAS subsidiary Spanair has contributed to a wish to divest holdings in SAS and caused the three governments to employ consultants to determine how a sale of the troubled airline could take place.

There have previously been rumours of an impending sale of SAS. In 2008 widespread rumours held that the German national airline Lufthansa was a candidate.

Finland’s national carrier Finnair has also been mooted as a candidate, but the company told the Bloomberg financial news agency earlier this week that it was not discussing an acquisition with SAS.

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