Athens  - After years of failed privatization attempts, the Greek government sealed a deal Friday with the country's largest buyout firm, Marfin Investment Group, for the sale of debt-ridden carrier Olympic Airlines, said Development Minister Kostis Hatzidakis.

The deal involving Marfin (MIG) comes a month after the conservative government made a last-minute appeal for investors to rescue Olympic, after an international tender failed to produce satisfactory offers.

Marfin submitted a 62.4-million-euro (79-million-dollar) bid for Olympic's flight operations and technical maintenance base.

Although details of the deal were not immediately released, the government said MIG will be bound to take over the ground-handling unit, totaling 44.8 million euros, if negotiations with Swissport, a subsidiary of Spain's Ferrovial, fall through.

"All the advisors of the government have informed us that negotiations with MIG for the sale of Olympic's flight operations and technical maintenance has had a successful end," Hatzidakis said.

The Greek government said that it will still require the green light from the European Commission for the deal to become binding.

Last year, the Commission blocked an attempt by Ryanair to acquire rival Irish carrier Aer Lingus, saying that the move may destroy competition at Dublin Airport in Ireland.

The deal between Marfin and the Greek government was reportedly struck hours before MIG threatened to walk away and just as the government received two more bids to acquire the airline by Chrysler for 210 million euros, and by Greek private carrier Aegean Airlines.

Although Aegean, which is Olympic's main competitor for Greece's domestic routes, offered an attractive proposal of 170 million euros to purchase the ailing airline, many expressed fears that the sale could create a monopoly and eventually be blocked by the European Commission.

Founded in 1957 by shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, Olympic steadily declined after being operated for decades by the state, with reported losses of 450 million euros a year.

The government has spent years seeking private investors to take over the airline, but the process has been complicated by the European Commission's demand that the company repay unlawfully- distributed state aid.

The last attempt to privatize the airline was September 2008, when the government floated a tender to split the loss-making airline into three units - flying, ground handling and aircraft maintenance - to facilitate a sale. (dpa)