CORRECTED-Investor Blavatnik sells Air Berlin stake

FRANKFURT, Jan 8 (Reuters) - German airline Air Berlin said on Thursday that U.S. billionaire Len Blavatnik sold his 18.9 percent stake in the carrier, leaving market participants guessing who bought the holding.

Recorded trading volumes show that Blavatnik did not sell his Air Berlin stake via the stock market.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways, previously rumoured to be interested in building a stake in the German carrier, said it did not buy Blavatnik's stake.

Since the Russian-born investor bought the Air Berlin stake in the spring of 2008, its market value has halved, falling to about 56 million euros ($75.91 million), based on Thursday's closing price.

The U.S. operations of petrochemicals maker LyondellBasell , which is part of Blavatnik's international empire, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this week.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Andre Grenon and Jon Loades-Carter) ($1=.7377 Euro) Keywords: AIRBERLIN/BLAVATNIK ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.