SAS shares plunge 95% with restructuring announcement

COPENHAGEN, Oct 4 (Reuters) – SAS (SAS.ST) shares fell 95% at the market open on Wednesday after the Scandinavian airline announced new major shareholders late on Tuesday in a restructuring that will see the group delisted from stock exchanges and existing ownership stakes. . erased.

SAS said that US investment firm Castellec and Air France-KLM will become new major shareholders in the airline along with the Danish state after bankruptcy proceedings.

Scandinavia’s largest airline filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States in mid-2022 after years of struggling with high costs coupled with falling customer demand due to the pandemic.

Castlelake will hold a stake of about 32%, while Air France-KLM will hold about 20%, Lind Invest 8.6%, and the Danish state will hold about 26%, SAS said.

The remaining shares are likely to be distributed to creditors, the airline said.

SAS shares, which had already fallen in recent years, fell 79% by 0742 GMT to 0.06 Swedish krona ($0.0054).

($1 = 11.0853 Swedish krona)

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