EPASAS aircraft in Frankfurt
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 20:19
Air France-KLM takes a major stake in the Scandinavian airline SAS. The French-Dutch company reports this in an email press release. With the deal, it will acquire 19.9 percent of the shares of the ailing competitor.
With the purchase, Air France-KLM hopes to gain more grip on the Scandinavian market. “Air France-KLM looks forward to building strong commercial ties with SAS,” CEO Benjamin Smith said in the message. “With its strong position in Scandinavia and its strong brand, SAS provides enormous potential to Air France-KLM.”
Financial problems
The Swedish and Danish states are currently the largest shareholders. But due to serious financial problems (in the US there is even a procedure to prevent bankruptcy) there were discussions with several investors.
“We are excited to be part of the consortium with the winning bid,” said Smith. He is referring to the collaboration between investment companies Castlelake and Lind Invest. Together with the Danish state, the consortium is investing 1.1 billion euros in SAS, 138 million of which comes from Air France-KLM.
The transaction will instantly make Castlelake the largest shareholder, with almost a third of the shares. The Danish government remains firmly at the table with more than a quarter of the shares. The importance of Air-France KLM will soon make it the third largest shareholder.
“Attracting new capital is one of the key pillars of the SAS-Forward plan,” say Carsten Dilling, chairman of the board of directors of SAS. The plan should help the airline to pass the procedure in the US. “While there is still a lot of work to be done, I am pleased to see that we are making good progress.”
2023-10-03 18:19:34
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