The European Commission has approved the restructuring plan of SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup), stressing that Denmark’s and Sweden’s participation in the process is in line with European Union state aid rules, a company statement said.
“The effectiveness of SAS’s chapter 11 plan of reorganisation remains subject to various conditions precedent, including approvals from various regulatory authorities and a successful completion of SAS Group's company reorganisation proceeding in Sweden,” the statement said.
The announcement came just a day after the European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority (ETA) approved Norway’s participation in the Chapter 11 restructuring as a creditor, stressing the move did not amount to state aid. Norway is part of the process through state-controlled Export Finance Norway, which will write off a NOK1.7 billion krone (USD159 million) against SAS Group and other entities within the group in exchange for shares in the restructured company and a possible cash payout, an ETA statement explained.
SAS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States in 2022 and expects to finalise the restructuring of its business this summer. Exiting Chapter 11 depends on the reorganisation of SAS AB, the airline’s parent company, in Sweden. Speaking to ch-aviation exclusively at the IATA AGM in Dubai this year, CEO Anko van der Werff pointed out that regulatory approvals could slip into August.
The restructuring will include an ownership change, according to which Air France-KLM will take 19.9% of SAS’s shares, while Castlelake will take a stake of around 32.2%. According to data from late May, the governments of Sweden and Denmark owned 21.8% of SAS shares each. The next largest investor was Wallenberg Investments with 3.42%. With the participation of Export Finance Norway, Norway will enter the Scandinavian airline’s ownership for the first time since exiting in June 2018.
SAS stakeholders are set to vote on the Swedish restructuring plan in the week starting July 15.
