Abra Group has gained the necessary regulatory approvals and fulfilled all conditions to acquire Wamos Air (EB, Madrid Barajas) and incorporate it into its portfolio of carriers which include avianca airlines (AV, Bogotá) and GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes (G3, São Paulo Congonhas).
“We are very pleased to announce that the strategic investment in Wamos Air by our Group is now a reality,” said Adrian Neuhauser, CEO of the Abra Group. The Spanish ACMI/charter carrier will continue with its own leadership, brand, culture, and operations, just as avianca and GOL currently do.
The investment allows the holding to participate in long-haul markets with widebody aircraft in other countries beyond its current Colombia operation, Neuhauser said earlier this year.
The size of the stake acquired was not disclosed nor was its monetary value. However, as a UK-based entity, Abra would be subject to EU caps on foreign ownership of EU-flagged airlines - 49.99%. Abra declined to go into any further detail on the transaction, instead referring ch-aviation back to its press release.
However, on July 11, 2024, Abra Group notified Spain’s market regulator (Comisión Nacional de los Mercados y la Competencia - CNMC), of its plans to acquire joint control of Wamos Air through Avianca Midco 2 PLC, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) indirectly controlled by the group and Wamos Executive, a new entity formed in Malta, to indirectly hold a majority stake and voting rights in Wamos. The shareholders of Wamos Executive are two unspecified EU citizens.
Enrique Saiz, chief executive of Wamos Air, said Abra’s acquisition will allow them “to pursue new business strategies, growth, and consolidation, while continuing to focus on our wet-lease business.”
The ch-aviation fleets module shows Wamos Air has 13 aircraft in its fleet - five A330-200s and eight A330-300s.
The Abra Group also has a convertible credit in SKY Airline (Chile) (H2, Santiago de Chile) and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Aerolíneas Argentinas (AR, Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery) in October 2023 to strengthen their collaboration.
