Abra, owner of Gol and Avianca Airlines, announces agreement for Chile Sky to become part of holding company | Companies

Abra provided the Chilean company with a loan during the pandemic and guaranteed the possibility of converting this debt into 40% of the airline’s equity. As highlighted in value According to a mid-October report, the two groups had been in talks for some time about the possibility of Sky becoming part of the holding company. The Abra team did not think that simply converting debt into non-controlling equity in Sky was attractive.

Abra said both parties will maintain complete independence during the final documentation and regulatory approval process, and that each company’s interactions with users, suppliers, employees and entities will continue to be the same.

Upon closing, Sky’s ownership will be consolidated into the group, with the Chilean company’s current majority shareholder retaining a portion of Abra’s ownership, the proportion of which was not disclosed. Sky will retain its brand and Holger Pohlmann will continue as Chairman of the Board.

“Sky is a company that shares the same objective: access to air transport as a priority. At Abra, we want to ensure that more people fly in Latin America by offering the best connectivity network, friendly service and competitive offers. Adding SKY to the Group will enable us to continue to strengthen the aviation market in the region,” Abra Group CEO Adrian Neuhauser said in a note.

“This is great news for us and our passengers,” Sky Airways president Holger Pohlmann said in a statement. “If the preliminary agreement presented today to the competition authorities is approved, SKY will become part of a group that currently operates a combined fleet of more than 300 aircraft, connecting more than 140 destinations in more than 25 countries. This means more routes, opportunities and travel options for our passengers, without leaving the essence of who we are,” he said.