Air France\u2013KLM has announced that it is initiating proceedings to take a majority stake in Scandinavian carrier SAS. The group currently holds a 19.9% stake and intends to raise its share to 60.5%, via a full acquisition of the stakes held by Castlelake and Lind Invest, subject to regulatory approval.
\nThis contemplated transaction reflects the successful turnaround of SAS and the positive results generated by the commercial co-operation initiated in 2024.
\nThe acquisition of this majority stake would give Air France-KLM control of SAS, which would become a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group. The Scandinavian airline currently has in service 138 carriers that serves 130 destinations across the globe.
\nIt would allow the leading European airline as well as SAS to fully unlock their synergy potential, confirm the Group\u2019s expansion in the Scandinavian market, and create additional potential for value delivery to shareholders. The Group would then hold the majority of seats on the airline\u2019s Board of Directors.
\nSubject to the obtaining of all the necessary regulatory clearances and satisfaction of all conditions precedents, the ambition is to close in the second half of 2026.
\nAir France-KLM said since the summer of 2024, it has implemented a commercial co-operation between SAS, Air France and KLM in the form of extended codeshare and interline agreements, further strengthened by SAS joining the SkyTeam alliance.
\nProvided all the necessary conditions are met, Air France-KLM would fully acquire the stakes held by Castlelake and Lind Invest, bringing its own stake to 60.5%, said the company in a statement.
\nThe Danish State would retain its 26.4% stake in SAS and its seats on the Board of Directors, it stated.
\nAir France-KLM\u2019s interest in pursuing this transaction is driven by the significant improvement of SAS\u2019s financial and operational performance, the success of the current commercial cooperation, as well as the Group\u2019s confidence in the Scandinavian carrier\u2019s long-term potential.
\n“We are excited by the prospect of fully welcoming SAS into the Air France-KLM family,” said Benjamin Smith, the CEO of Air France-KLM.
\n“Following their successful restructuring, SAS has delivered impressive performance, and we are confident that the airline\u2019s potential will continue to grow through deeper integration within the Air France-KLM Group,” he stated.
\n“This operation would benefit our customers and all Scandinavians who would enjoy enhanced connectivity, as well as the SAS teams whose dedication has been key to restore their airline to its rightful place. They would join a group of airlines united by a shared commitment to excellence and a more sustainable future for air transport. We look forward to this new chapter in our shared journey,” he added.
\nThe value of Air France-KLM\u2019s contemplated investment in SAS would be determined at closing, based on SAS\u2019s latest financial performance \u2013 including ebitda and net debt. This transaction would be in line with the Group\u2019s medium-term financial outlook.-TradeArabia News Service<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Air France\u2013KLM has announced that it is initiating proceedings to take a majority stake in Scandinavian carrier SAS. The group currently holds a 19.9% stake and intends to raise its share to 60.5%, via a full acquisition of the stakes held by Castlelake and Lind Invest, subject to regulatory approval. This contemplated transaction reflects the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":null,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":null,"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[98,102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-companies","category-featured-en"],"yoast_head":"\n