Delta Airlines completed on Monday, buying 20% of Latam Airlines Group S.A shares for approximately $ 1.9 billion. According to the company, “an important step in bringing together leading airlines in South and North America. This investment confirms Delta’s strategy of acquiring stakes in major airlines around the globe. ”
“We look forward to working with Latam to create a truly world-class partnership to provide our passengers with unprecedented access across the Americas,” said Delta Air Lines International President and Executive Vice President, Global Sales, Steve Sear. like this one helps build alignment with our partners as we advertise our brands, so we can provide the best service and trust for our mutual partners. ”
Last September, Delta and Latam announced a strategic partnership, which already included the purchase of 20% of the shares as well as a commercial partnership (with the announcement, both also initiated the process of ending partnerships with Gol and American Airlines, respectively). Once completed, Delta reports, “This partnership will provide increasing opportunities for both airlines, and will offer a significant increase in travel options for passengers with access to 435 destinations around the world.”
Already in the first quarter of 2020, Latam and Delta will launch cooperation agreements for flights operated by some Latam affiliates in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The cooperation agreement will provide passengers with more connectivity between more than 74 destinations in the United States and more than 51 destinations in South America.
CUETO FAMILY REDUCES PARTICIPATION
Latam Airlines Group issued a statement in parallel with Delta’s, confirming that the US company acquired 121,281,538 shares of the company, representing 20% of the total issued shares. Latam also reported that the participation of Costa Verde Aeronáutica S.A., owned by the Cueto family, was reduced from 26.24% to 20.18%. Costa Verde remains the main individual shareholder of Latam Airlines.
In its statement, Latam says, “The companies’ highly complementary airline networks will provide customers with a more connectivity travel experience to 435 destinations worldwide. In addition, the transactions contemplated in the agreement will allow Latam to strengthen its business structure. improving their cash flow and consequently reducing their future debt. “
