Air France-KLM, Castlelake raise SAS refinancing to $1.2b

Air France-KLM and private equity firm Castlelake LP have increased their planned investment in the bankrupt Scandinavian flag-carrier SAS AB by $25m to $1.2b, SAS said Saturday. SAS on Oct. 3 had announced an investment of $1.175b from the investment group to help rescue the carrier, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July amid headwinds from the Covid-19 pandemic, high fuel prices and a pilot strike. The deal promises to further the post-Covid consolidation of Europe’s aviation industry around Air France-KLM and two other major carrier groups, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and IAG SA. IAG is taking over Spain’s Air Europa, while Lufthansa has agreed to buy part of Italy’s state-owned ITA Airways, the successor to Alitalia. The final offer for SAS announced Saturday includes $725m in secured convertible debt, as well as Castlelake providing a $500m facility to help with refinancing, the carrier said in the statement. <br/>