After the principle agreement reached on July 2, the agreement for the departure of David Neeleman from TAP is about to be signed. With the formalization on paper of the departure of the American businessman with the signature of the parties involved in the negotiations, the carrier guarantees the entry of the loan of up to 1,200 million euros by the State. The signing of the agreement is expected to take place between Thursday and Friday, according to a source close to the process.
“Everything is fine and fine-tuned to be signed between today and tomorrow. Lawyers on one side and the other are already analyzing the entire clauses of the agreement, ”said the same source.
The Government will, therefore, inject money of 1,200 million euros – the first tranche of which should be 250 million euros – to face the company’s complicated treasury situation, which will allow workers to pay salaries and make payments suppliers.
The Executive announced on July 2 that it reached an agreement with TAP’s private shareholders, taking 72.5% of the airline’s capital, for 55 million euros, with the acquisition of the stake (22.5%) so far owned by David Neeleman. Entrepreneur Humberto Pedrosa holds 22.5% and workers the remaining 5%.
“In order to avoid the collapse of the company, the Government opted to reach an agreement for 55 million euros”, said the Minister of Finance, João Leão, in a joint press conference with the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos . The government clarified that Atlantic Gateway is now controlled by only one of the shareholders that comprised the consortium, namely the Portuguese Humberto Pedrosa, owner of the Barraqueiro group.
The owner of the Azul airline, David Neeleman, thus leaves TAP’s shareholder structure, after overcoming the disagreement with the Government due to his right to convert Azul’s bond loan to TAP into capital. Having overcome this point, which needed the endorsement of the shareholders of the airline Azul, TAP maintains its commitment to pay back the loan of 90 million euros made in 2016, which has an interest rate of 7.5% and which ends in 2026.
However, the agreement reached between Neeleman and the Government for the departure of the businessman from TAP will still be voted on August 10 at a general meeting to receive approval from the shareholders of Azul. According to Expresso, the agreement is thus subject to verification of Azul’s condition to approve within 30 days the waiver of the 90 million euro bond loan that it granted to TAP in 2016.
To leave TAP’s capital, David Neeleman receives 55 million euros, of which 10.6 million will go to Azul, after checking the condition imposed by the State was that Azul abdicated from converting the bond loan into shares, which matures in 2026.
A source close to the lawsuit revealed to JE that Azul’s shareholders agreed to cede this right due to the imminent forced nationalization of the company, as they did not know how much they would be able to recover in the future from the 90 million euros loan, if the question later went to the arbitral tribunals where predictably, it would drag on for years.
Another risk for David Neeleman, with the nationalization of TAP, is that he might not receive anything for his current participation in the company. With the deal closed this morning, JE knows that Neeleman will receive 55 million euros.
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