Air France-KLM, together with a consortium of investment funds Castlelake and Lind and the Danish state, is taking over the Scandinavian airline SAS. The French-Dutch aviation group will receive a maximum of 19.9 percent of the shares. As a result of the transaction, SAS will leave Star Alliance and join SkyTeam, the airline alliance that also includes Air France and KLM. This was announced this evening.

The four parties together pump almost 1.2 billion dollars into SAS, so that the ailing company can exit the so-called Chapter 11 procedure in the United States. The four together own almost all the shares. As a result, the Scandinavian airline, which has bases in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, will leave the stock exchange. SAS is largely led by Dutch people (ex-KLM employees).

Air France-KLM CEO Ben Smith: "This is an important day for SAS and for Air France-KLM. We are pleased to be part of the winning bidding consortium selected by the SAS board. Air France-KLM looks forward to establishing strong commercial ties with SAS. With its established position in Scandinavia and its strong brand, SAS offers enormous potential to Air France-KLM." The acquisition is still subject to approval by the authorities.

With the investment in and collaboration with SAS, Air France-KLM is taking an important step in the consolidation of the European aviation sector. SAS's three home markets (Denmark, Sweden and Norway) are very prosperous and together have a population of over 20 million people. The company has a fleet of almost 100 aircraft, including eleven widebodies (seven A330s and four A350s). The European fleet largely consists of the modern Airbus A320neo family.

The Danish government was already one of the shareholders of SAS, and is now further expanding its stake to approximately 26 percent. 32 percent of the shares go to Castlelake, and just over 8 percent to Lind Invest. Air France-KLM therefore becomes the third largest shareholder.

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* Origin: AVIATION ECHO HQ (2:292/854)