Abra Group, owner of avianca airlines, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, and Wamos Air, has closed two private refinancing transactions worth a total of USD1.25 billion.
One of the holding group's own subsidiaries, Abra Global Finance (based in the Cayman Islands), closed a private placement of USD510 million in aggregate principal amount of senior secured notes due in 2029.
Separately, Abra Group also entered into a Term Loan Credit Agreement with Castlelake which provides for a five-year, senior secured term loan credit facility of USD740 million, guaranteed by the holding and certain subsidiaries.
Earlier this year, ch-aviation reported that this new debt carries a nominal interest rate of 14%, paid semi-annually, with 6.0% in cash and the remainder as Payment-in-Kind (PIK).
The Abra Group has used both loans and cash to fund the repayment of old debt made up of senior secured notes that were due in 2028. In parallel, the company agreed with the holders of these secured notes to resolve the financial defaults related to GOL’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
The Brazilian carrier entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in January 2024. It recently requested a US court to grant it an extension to file its restructuring plan until May 19, 2025.
Castlelake leases ten aircraft to GOL (four B737-8s and six B737-800s), one A320-200N to avianca airlines Costa Rica, and six A330-200Fs to avianca cargo. It has no standing agreements with the Spanish charter operator Wamos Air, the ch-aviation fleets module shows.
