Brazil’s Azul invests in TAP – Air Portugal

Brazilian airline Azul made an investment of about USD100 million in Portuguese airline TAP – Portugal, according to a statement posted on its website.
“The investment will give Azul the right to hold approximately 40 percent of the economic value of the Portuguese airline at the time of conversion of the security and after approval by the Civil Aviation Authority of Portugal,” the statement said.
The issue of bonds convertible into shares, is occurring under the TAP recapitalization plan agreed in June 2015 during the privatization process of the Portuguese airline.
Azul also said that this investment takes place under the “application agreement of $450 million by the HNA group announced at the end of 2015,” which gave the Chinese partner a 23.7 percent equity interest in Azul.
“The investment in the Portuguese airline was a requirement of the agreement between Azul and the HNA Group,” added the Brazilian company.
Azul also said it had been authorised by the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil to make seven weekly flights to Portugal, according to a decree published in the Official Gazette.
The airline plans to launch the route on May 4 and initially will offer three weekly flights from Campinas, São Paulo, to Lisbon, potentially increasing to six flights per week in the peak season.  MDT/Macauhub