4 days Ago
The group will start the process of buying out the shares of Castlelake and Lind Invest investors. Subject to regulators signing off – and that's a big if – Air France-KLM hopes for the takeover to be completed in the second half of next year. SAS will become a subsidiary of Air France-KLM and a sister airline to KLM, upon completion of the deal.
Strategic Expansion and Market Outlook
Air France-KLM's CEO, Benjamin Smith, welcomed the deal with excitement, saying, "We are excited by the perspective of fully welcoming SAS into the Air France-KLM family." SAS, which last year had revenue of 4.1 billion euros and transported 25 million passengers, also operates in Sweden.
The firm will pay for the acquisition with existing cash, details of 'the 'exact purchase price' of which remain undisclosed but are dependent on SAS's financial performance at the point of acquisition. Critically, the Danish government will hold more than 25 per cent of the company.
Deal Background and What's Next
Air France-KLM initially invested in SAS last year after the COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on the operations of the Scandinavian airline, which flies from Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The two airlines have since been cooperating with code-sharing and joint marketing arrangements. SAS has also been a partner in SkyTeam, the alliance that includes Air France and KLM. The decision to take a larger share of SAS had been a long time in coming, with Air France-KLM having publicly expressed a wish to gain further control of SAS.
Any deal could be a huge step forward for the European aviation industry and could further drive competition between the large airline groups.
