Posted on 10/04/2023 8:54:18 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Shares in Scandinavian Airlines dropped more than 90% on Wednesday after the ailing carrier announced new shareholders in a restructuring scheme that will see the company delisted and existing ownership stakes erased.
The rescue deal involving airline alliance Air France-KLM and private equity firms Castlelake and Lind Invest, which became investors alongside the Danish state, was presented late Tuesday.
The deal means that SAS will receive $475 million in new equity and $700 million in convertible debt. Scandinavian Airlines will be taken off the stock exchange in the second quarter of 2024 and no payment will be made to current shareholders.
Castlelake will become the biggest shareholder with a 32% stake, while Air France-KLM will hold 20%. The Danish government will hold 26% of the shares. Lind Invest will control 8.6% and the remaining shares will “most likely ... be distributed among and held by certain creditors who may receive recovery in equity,” SAS said in a comment.
Shortly after trading opened on Wednesday at Nasdaq Nordic, which owns most stock exchanges in the Nordic-Baltic region, SAS shares dropped 96% and climbed from there to an 84% drop.
“The SAS management has been very, very specific in saying that these shares will become worthless. This has been the case for over a year now,” Sydbank analyst Jacob Pedersen said.
Investment economist Per Hansen told Danish broadcaster TV2 that the reason why the share had not become totally worthless was that “as long as there is a pulse, there is hope. There will always be some who sit and speculate whether the share will rise again.”
The details and final documentation for the agreed transaction structure still must be finalized between the investors and SAS, the company said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketbeat.com ...
Anybody know how the hell this came about?
Covid response is my guess. Shame too, SAS was my favorite airline.
SAS filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States in mid-2022 after years of struggling with high costs coupled with low customer demand exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
No money for Ukraine. Could be scared.
My first trip overseas was on it……..great experience .
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Non sequitur
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