Azul Airlines made a proposal to buy Avianca Airlines. Azul’s intention is to stay
with the Avianca company registry, 30 Aibus A320 aircraft and 70 pairs of slots
(times for landing or take-off). All this for the sum of 105 million. Azul’s attempt
is to buy the company through an Isolated Productive Unit (UPI), a resource
that was used by Gol in the acquisition of Varig Airlines. It’s a way of getting the
“good side” of a broken company, without having to take on financial and labor
liabilities. In a statement, the company said that the expectation is that this
process lasts up to three months. It still needs the approval of Avianca’s creditors,
the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and the Administrative Council for
Economic Defense. The news fell well in the market. Azul’s shares rose more than
7 percent at 3:40 pm. Investors are aware that if the purchase is completed,
Azul will be able to take on the competition and space in the most profitable
airports in the country, such as Congonhas and Santos Dumont. If approved,
the acquisition only confirms one of the most anticipated business of the Brazilian
airline industry. Azul and Avianca have many reasons to unite their businesses
and nothing like a crisis to convince reluctant sellers. Even affected by the crisis
and pressure from creditors, Avianca closed the month of January with 11% market
share in the Brazilian airline industry, according to data from Anac. It is not yet
known how much of this traffic will continue to Azul, since the company did not
propose the purchase of the entire company. Azul has a 20% market share of
domestic flights. Today the market leader is Gol, which owns 39% market share,
followed by Latam, which owns 29.8%. A possible purchase of Avianca by Azul
strengthens the company in the dispute with Gol for the leadership in the sector.
