São Paulo, January 15, 2025 - Grupo Abra (majority investor in Gol Linhas Aéreas and Avianca) and Azul Linhas Aéreas today signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the intention of exploring a combination of their businesses in Brazil , improving connectivity throughout the country through the expansion of national, regional and international flights, improving competitiveness, products and services and strengthening the country's connections with the rest of the world. A Gol não faz parte do MoU.
As redes e a frota da Gol e da Azul are complementary in almost 90% of the routes since each company flies with aircraft of different sizes and attends to different destinations. As partes I hope that a combination of businesses results in efficiencies and cost reductions, directly benefiting consumers. After the conclusion of this transaction, it is expected that Gol and Azul companies will maintain their independent brands and operational certificates, serving more than 200 destinations in Brazil and internationally, with plans to expand their air networks and connectivity and create more jobs.
"We are pleased to announce our intention to explore a combination of Gol and Azul businesses to create a more competitive and resilient global aviation player and increase the democratization of the sector. As part of Abra's strategy to strengthen the Brazilian market, this is an important opportunity to further intensify our presence in Brazil and strengthen our global network. At the same time, as Grupo Abra, we continue to support all the work that the administration of Gol and the entire team of Gol have done for the successful restructuring of Gol during its Chapter 11 process and we are excited about its prospects of emerging as an entity autônoma bem capitalizada”, diz Manuel Irarrázaval, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) da Abra.
The parties agreed with a commercial principle, to guarantee adequate capitalization, that any combination will result in a liquid leverage of the combined entity that will be comparable or better than the liquid leverage of Gol at the time of the Transaction, after the completion of its plan of reorganization.
The closing of the transaction is subject to the agreement between Grupo Abra and Azul on the economic terms of the transaction, the satisfactory completion of due diligence, the celebration of definitive contracts, the obtaining of corporate and regulatory approvals (including the Brazilian antitrust authorities), satisfaction of the usual conditions of closing, consumption of the plan of reorganization of Chapter 11 of Gol and the receipt by Abra of the counterprestação foreseen in the same.
The Memorandum of Understanding announced today is the initial stage of a negotiation process to explore the viability of a potential transaction. In this way, the strategy, the conduct of business and the operations of Grupo Abra and Gol will not be altered as a result of the signing of the MOU.
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and Pinheiro Guimarães are acting as legal advisors to Abra in relation to the potential transaction. Caminati Bueno Advogados is acting as principal antitrust consultant.
Abra Group Press: info@abragroup.net
About Abra: Abra, a company based in the United Kingdom, is one of the two most competitive air transport groups in Latin America. It brings together the iconic brands Gol and Avianca under a unique leadership and a strategic investment in Wamos Air, anchoring a network of airlines that have two minor unit costs in their respective markets, loyalty programs leading in the entire region (LifeMiles and Smiles ) and other synergic businesses. Além disso, Abra has a convertible debt that represents a minority stake investment in Sky Airline do Chile. The Group consolidates a team of about 30,000 highly qualified aviation professionals and a fleet of more than 300 aircraft, with regular flights serving 25 countries and more than 150 destinations. A Gol is one of the main airlines in Brazil, operating a standardized fleet of 138 Boeing 737 aircraft and has 13,900 highly qualified professionals. Avianca, the second oldest airline in the world, operates more than 140 A320 and B787 passenger aircraft, as well as 7 cargo aircraft, and has more than 14,000 employees. Finally, Wamos Air is the leader in Europe in wide-body ACMI operations, operating 13 A330 passenger aircraft. For more information, access www.abragroup.net
Tags Manuel Irarrázaval, Grupo Abra Gol Linhas Aéreas Avianca
