Air France has shareholder support for capital increase

Air France-KLM has won shareholder support for a capital increase, and will go ahead when its stock price allows it, French newspaper Les Echos reported Sunday without saying how it obtained the information.

The recapitalization will take place in the next few months, with main shareholders including the French state, as well as the Netherlands, Delta Airlines and China Eastern, according to the newspaper.

The Franco-Dutch airline is set to issue convertible bonds and sell some assets that aren’t airplanes, according to Les Echos.

Air France laid out options Thursday to raise capital of as much as 4 billion euros as a way to pay back a government pandemic bailout. Selling more equity would help the group lower debt and free itself from the conditions of state aid, but would also dilute the holdings of existing owners.