Vienna  - Austria's state holding OeIAG welcomed Wednesday the decision by Deutsche Lufthansa AG to buy its stake in Austrian Airlines AG, as the deal would protect jobs and maintain the country's attractiveness as a business location.

"Independently, Austrian Airlines would not have been able to maintain its business model," OeIAG chief executive Peter Michaelis said in a statement.

On Friday, OeIAG's governing board is scheduled to take its own decision on selling its 42.75-per-cent stake to Lufthansa. If the board approves, the signing of the deal will take place on the same day, an OeIAG spokeswoman said.

Austrian Airlines shares rose by 39.6 per cent on the news of the decision, closing at 3.70 euros (4.68 dollars) per share on the Vienna stock market.

Lufthansa has offered to buy out shareholders at 4.44 euros per share, but Wilhelm Rasinger, the influential head of the Austrian Shareholders Association, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the offer did not overly impress him.

"The price is not yet at a point where I would advise to accept it," Rasinger said. (dpa)