The German government has sold its last shares in the country’s biggest airline, Lufthansa, which it stepped in to rescue at the height of the coronavirus crisis.

The government’s Finance Agency said late on Tuesday that the remaining stake of some 9.9 per cent has now been sold to international investors.

The agency’s head, Jutta Doenges, said the total proceeds from selling the government’s holdings came to €1.07 billion — a significant gain over the €306 million for which the shares were acquired.

Doenges said that “the stabilisation of Deutsche Lufthansa AG has been concluded successfully” and “the company is once again in private hands”.

Lufthansa, which also owns carriers including Austrian Airlines and Swiss, received a €9 billion government rescue package in the mid 2020. The German government took a 20 per cent stake in the company.

In November, Lufthansa said it had paid back all the aid and cancelled funds that it hadn’t tapped.

It said it drew down about €3.8 billion of aid in total, including the €306 million that covered the stake taken by the government’s economic stabilisation fund.