Norse Atlantic starts formal process for possible sale or merger

July 31 (Reuters) - Norse Atlantic said on Friday its board had initiated a formal process for a possible sale, merger or partnership, citing strong interest from potential parties for the Norwegian airline.

• Shares in Norse slumped in April, wiping more than half off its market value, after it announced a discounted $110 million rights issue, withdrew its 2026 outlook and said it could consider a sale.

• In May, Bloomberg News reported that Norse has brought on JPMorgan to run a sale process, citing people familiar with the matter.

• Indian airline IndiGo, earlier on Friday, agreed to discontinue its leasing partnership with Norse, citing geopolitical challenges, in a move that would return six Boeing 787 aircraft to the Norwegian carrier.

• Norse said it is already in discussions with several airlines for leasing out up to five of the aircraft being returned by IndiGo with crew, maintenance and insurance, known as ACMI, or "wet," leasing.

• "The return of these six aircraft opens up strategic opportunities that were not available to us before," CEO Eivind Roald said in a statement.

• The company also plans to deploy part of the returning fleet on certain profitable winter routes, including flights from Europe to Orlando and New York.

(Reporting by Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Sahal Muhammed)