SOUTH AFRICA agreed to sell a majority stake in the country’s grounded national carrier to a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm, ridding the government of an entity that has long been a drain on state finances.

A consortium comprised of Johannesburg-based Global Airways, which owns recently launched domestic airline Lift, and private-equity firm Harith General Partners will take a 51% shareholding in South African Airways, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Friday.

The government will retain a minority stake.

The rand strengthened on the news, trading 0.5% firmer at 13.55 to the U.S. dollar as of 10:11 a.m. in Johannesburg.

The grouping named Takatso will invest as much as 3.5 billion rand ($258 million) over the next three years, Lift co-founder Gidon Novick and Harith Chief Executive Officer Tshepo Mahloele said in an interview.

“Government will have no further financial obligations to the company, outside