SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup) is open to an initial public offering (IPO) to fund growth if Air France-KLM decides not to increase its stake in the carrier, CEO Anko van der Werff told Bloomberg News in an interview. He added that SAS wants the Franco-Dutch holding to increase its current 19.9% stake as he sees optimising resources among European airlines as more important than holding on to the concept of national carriers.
Commenting on the overall situation in the European market, van der Werff added that Europe is still far behind the United States where just a handful of players dominate the industry.
The Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines parent purchased the 19.9% stake during SAS’ restructuring, at the end of August. It has the option of becoming a majority shareholder by late 2026, according to the agreement. “The decision to go ahead will be made based on the compatibility with the group’s profitability targets, notably the target of an 8% margin,” an Air France-KLM spokesperson told ch-aviation.
Under European Union competition policy, acquisitions of stakes of less than 20% are subject to relatively lax scrutiny. An increase in AF-KLM's shareholding, given the combined size of the carriers, would merit a much more detailed EU review.
Speaking at the World Aviation Festival earlier this month, van der Werff said that not being a part of a large joint venture had held SAS back, and that it’s the company’s ambition to change that but that negotiations take time. He added that being part of a joint venture was why SAS exited Star Alliance, whose rules did not permit such actions. However, joint ventures may become moot if Air France-KLM does take over the entire company.
SAS delisted from the market in August amid its restructuring, and it formally exited Chapter 11 and Swedish restructuring at the end of that month.
