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The Chairman of troubled Scandinavian airline SAS, Fritz Schur, belies a merger with another company is more likely than a takeover. The possible partner could be an airline from outside of Europe, he said in an interview with a Danish newspaper.

Last week shares in SAS rallied after a report said carriers Air France-KLM, Lufthansa and British Airways would be ready to enter a bidding war for the beleaguered company and growing speculation its state owners want to sell the carrier.

However, no discussions are ongoing, Fritz Schur told the Copenhagen-based Berlingske Tidende. He also said that the governments of Sweden, Norway and Denmark -- which own half the airline -- doesn’t have a clear agreement over the airline's future and that no meetings have been held "in a long time”.

In February last year, the Swedish government said it was interested in reducing its holding in SAS at an "opportune moment" and Denmark and Norway followed suit.

SAS has been hard-hit by the rise of low-cost airline Norwegian and by plunging passenger traffic numbers in the wake of the global economic crisis.

Rumours of a sell-off have been circulating since 2008, with Lufthansa seen as the most probable buyer.