Cathay Pacific to redeem shares to draw line under Covid state support

Cathay Pacific has outlined plans to redeem and cancel its remaining preference shares held by the Hong Kong government related to a recapitalisation carried out in 2020 after the pandemic hit. The Oneworld carrier last year redeemed half the preference shares held by Hong Kong government-owned Aviation 2020. and it has now announced plans to redeem the remaining shares, worth up to HK$9.98b ($1.28b), by the end of July. Once completed it would mean all preference shares would be cancelled, as would Aviation 2020’s right to appoint two observers to the board. The preference shares were issued as part of the airline’s recapitalisation in the summer of 2020 and gave the state, through Aviation 2020, a 6% stake in Cathay Pacific. Cathay Pacific reached 80% of pre-pandemic flight capacity in the second quarter and says it remains on track to reach 100% within Q1 2025. <br/>