Stronach to board Jetalliance

Austrian businessman Frank Stronach is set to become involved with a Lower Austrian airline, it has emerged.Jetalliance boss Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer told the WirtschaftsBlatt newspaper today (Thurs) he was “delighted” at having managed to win Stronach as an investor.The Kottingbrunn-based business charter aviation firm merged with Magna Air, a subsidiary of Magna International, 10 years ago.Stronach left his native Styria in the 1950s to found a tool-making company which would eventually become Magna International, a globally operating car industry supplier.The 77-year-old former Austrian Football Bundesliga president agreed to a multi-million payout for losing his voting rights at the Austrian-Canadian company earlier this year. Stronach reportedly received around 800 million Euros after accepting a reduction of his voting rights among company shareholders from 66 per cent to just 7.4 per cent.Stronach is understood to be considering acquiring a stake in Jetalliance at a company summit next Monday when firm bosses will debate a capital increase. Jetalliance was founded in 1996. The company has 70 employees.Stronach, whose private fortune is around 2.6 billion Euros, shocked Magna Wiener Neustadt fans some weeks ago by announcing plans to drastically reduce his financial support for the top-flight football side.