Brazil airline Gol and Colombia’s Avianca to create holding company Abra Group

Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes and Colombia’s Avianca said on Wednesday they have agreed to create a holding company called Abra Group, bringing the two brands under the control of a single company. Abra Group will be jointly controlled by the principal shareholders of Avianca and the majority shareholder of Gol, they said, adding that both airlines would continue to operate independently and maintain their respective brands. They said other financial investors had committed to invest up to $350m in Abra Group upon the closing of the deal, which is expected in the second half of 2022. Abra, which has called itself a “pan-Latin American network of airlines,” will also own a non-controlling 100% economic interest in Viva’s operations in Colombia and Peru and a minority interest in Chile’s Sky Airline. Roberto Kriete will serve as the group chairman, while Gol’s founder Constantino de Oliveira Junior will be the chief executive. Avianca’s CEO Adrian Neuhauser and Gol’s CFO Richard Lark will serve as co-presidents. “This agreement places Abra’s airlines in a position to lead air travel within the region - serving a population of over 1b and GDP of nearly $3t — providing significant opportunities for capacity and revenue growth,” Oliveira said. Abra would focus on achieving synergies to ensure lower costs and expand routes, the firms said, without providing details. Gol said in a separate filing that the transaction involved its controlling shareholder, investment fund MOBI FIA, and certain shareholders of Avianca Holding including Kingsland International, Elliott International and South Lake One.<br/>