Air France KLM shares slump as Dutch eye up bigger stake

Shares in Air France KLM fell sharply on Wednesday after the Dutch government said it would take a 14 per cent stake in the airline, highlighting tensions between the Netherlands and its French partners in the company.

Air France KLM shares were down by around 9 per cent in early session trading. Late on Tuesday, Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said the Netherlands had taken a 12.7 per cent stake for €680 million and aimed to increase that to about 14 per cent, but had not informed France about the move.– Reuters