Speculation over a possible sale of Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines (MEA), has resurfaced in political and media circles, driven by new information confirming genuine interest from the global shipping giant CMA CGM. The company, owned by French-Lebanese billionaire Rodolphe Saadé, has been exploring the possibility of acquiring a significant stake in the airline. So far, however, that interest has not materialized into a completed transaction or a final agreement.

According to reliable information obtained by Al-Modon, CMA CGM’s interest in MEA is not new. It dates back to 2021, when the French group seriously raised the idea of buying a stake in the airline during the tenure of former central bank governor Riad Salameh. At the time, the proposal failed to gain traction amid the fallout from Lebanon’s financial crisis, which erupted in 2019 and was still in its early and most severe phase. The depth of the crisis, coupled with concerns over potential public and official backlash, discouraged a serious effort to move the file forward.

The issue returned to the forefront after the appointment of a new central bank governor, Karim Souaid, the sources said. Roughly five months into his term, CMA CGM reopened the matter, floating the possibility of acquiring a 51 percent stake in Middle East Airlines. Preliminary contacts and negotiations took place between the two sides, focusing primarily on the airline’s valuation and the potential price of a deal.

Those talks, however, failed to yield a breakthrough. According to the sources, the two sides could not agree on MEA’s financial valuation. MEA Chairman Mohammad El Hout reportedly pegged the airline’s value at roughly twice the figure estimated by Saadé, a gap that ultimately derailed the negotiations and led to their suspension.

A well-informed source attributed MEA management’s insistence on a high valuation to the airline’s positive financial performance and its future expansion plans. These include efforts to broaden its operations and boost its market value through the creation of subsidiary companies, most notably the “Fly Beirut” project, which is expected to launch in 2027. The source stressed that Middle East Airlines is among the very few institutions in Lebanon that continue to post regular annual profits despite the crises and wars it has endured; an argument that strengthens its negotiating position.

By contrast, the Banque du Liban has publicly denied the existence of any current negotiations or an open negotiation track, whether for a full or partial sale of the airline. The central bank has insisted that no official or unofficial discussions have taken place, or are taking place, with any local or foreign party on the matter.

Taken together, the information suggests that CMA CGM’s interest in acquiring Middle East Airlines remains, for now, in the realm of preliminary talks and incomplete negotiations. Despite renewed attention and earlier contacts, the file has yet to mature into a finalized deal or an imminent agreement.