Aeromexico tumbles to near zero as meme stock faces final hour

Grupo Aeromexico SAB’s shares fell near the lowest price on record as the company takes the final steps to emerge from Chapter 11. 

The stock plunged 29% to 0.41 pesos Wednesday as the window closed on a voluntary tender offer that will substantially dilute existing shareholders. The price is expected to reach zero throughout the day.

Aeromexico won court approval to emerge from Chapter 11 in late January. After the restructuring, a group of strategic Mexican shareholders will own 4.1% of the company. Apollo Global Management, which led the debtor-in-possession financing, will retain a stake of about 22%, while Delta will have 20%. The remaining shares will be distributed among new investors and creditors. 

The carrier’s largest shareholder, Delta Air Lines Inc., didn’t participate in the offer, according to a previous announcement. That left as much as 49% of the stock before dilution to be acquired, which will represent less than 0.01% of total shares after the plan takes effect. 

Aeromexico shares have gotten caught up in the so-called meme stock frenzy, which pumped up poorly performing and heavily shorted stocks. Even after it was clear in December that shareholders were going to be lucky to get one centavo per share, trading in Aeromexico spiked to its highest since 2013 as it rose and fell through the last three months. The volume was driven by a flood of retail investors who have embraced new trading platforms, traders said.

Local brokerage Grupo Bursatil Mexicano SA sent email messages to clients of their GBM+ platform, warning them the stock was worthless after the capitalization. The firm didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Aeromexico estimates the company’s equity plan value stands at $2.6 billion and expects shares to trade at or around 401.68 pesos ($18.79) as of Thursday, according to a previous statement.