LATAM Airlines seeks bankruptcy court approval for $2.75b in exit loans

LATAM Airlines Group, the largest air transport group in Latin America, on Monday asked a bankruptcy judge to approve $2.75b in new loans to fund the company's exit from Chapter 11. US Bankruptcy Judge James Garrity in Manhattan will review the request during a court hearing on June 23. LATAM, which has operating units in Chile, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, says it has commitments for $2.75b in loans from JPMorgan Chase Bank, Goldman Sachs Lending Partners, Barclays Bank, BNP Paribas, BNP Paribas Securities Corp and Natixis, with an additional $1.17b agreement to refinance and extend its existing bankruptcy loan. "This commitment secures us the full amount of financing required to complete our restructuring plan and, very importantly, with a degree of flexibility that allows us to optimize existing market conditions," LATAM Airlines CE Roberto Alvo said Saturday. In addition to the judge approving the exit loans, LATAM is awaiting Garrity's decision on whether to approve its overall restructuring plan. LATAM needs to secure its exit loans before emerging from bankruptcy and continuing to raise funds through a post-bankruptcy $800m equity offering, according to court documents. Born in 2012 from the merger of Chile's LAN with Brazilian rival TAM, LATAM was one of three major Latin American airlines to seek Chapter 11 protection in New York two years ago amid the economic fallout of the pandemic. The other two, Mexico’s Grupo Aeromexico and Colombia’s Avianca, have both emerged from bankruptcy in the past six months.<br/>