The Turkish Airlines airline has sent on Tuesday the expected binding offer for acquiring a minority package of Air Europa to the president of the Globalia Tourist Holding, Juan José Hidalgo, head of 80% of the Spanish airline. Different sources give an imminent approval of the entrepreneur to them. The check comes through a loan that, later, would become a 27% to 27% participation. At noon they continued to be the fringes of the contract.
The Turkish state majority airline seeks to become a second shareholder of Air Europa, behind Globalia and with greater weight than IAG ,. Its entrance will be produced through a capital increase in which the holding company led by Luis Gallego will have the subscription right if he intends to protect the aforementioned 20%level.
On the way, the alleged offers of Lufthansa and Air France remained in this process, embarked on the first in the taking of the Italian Ita and the second, in the purchase of the Scandinavian SAS.
Turkish Airlines, which must now wait for the approvals of the Spanish government and competition authorities in different countries, already announced on August 7 before the Istanbul Stock Exchange regulator that to launch for a minority participation. The Turkish company then highlighted the complementarity of its business and that of the Spanish, as well as its interest in Latin America, where Air Europa has an outstanding position from Madrid-Barajas in Pugna with Iberia. There is the circumstance that the Globalia firm began to fly to Istanbul just before summer, expressing interest in the growing market between Spain and Türkiye.
The Foreign Investment Board (Jinvex) has a duty to analyze Turkish’s landing operation as it is the taking of more than 10% of the capital of a company considered strategic by the Government. Sources close to conversations await the state PLACET as it is a participation that, in any case, does not entail control and accelerate the return of credits to the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI) by Air Europa.
Days ago, Juan José Hidalgo said in an interview granted to Efe his intention to cancel this year the loan of 475 million euros granted by the aforementioned SEPI in November 2020. That financial support served to alleviate the impact of the collapse of the activity derived from the pandemic. To do so, Air Europa would advance one year to the expiration date of this public financial aid, which expires in November 2026.
Before that, Air Europa obtained on May 18, 2020. Those who granted that oxygen ball were Santander, Caixabank, Bankia, Sabadell, Bankinter, Unicaja, Liberbank, the Bank of Cooperative Social Credit and ICO itself. Although the expiration was set in 2028, the airline amortized the credit after its.
The Hidalgo family company has been paying high interest for the financing obtained during the health crisis.
