Airline SAS expects to cancel all common shares, hybrids by June

Scandinavian airline SAS AB will cancel and redeem all of its common shares and commercial hybrid bonds when it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the US around June.

“SAS reiterates its expectation that there will be only a modest recovery for general unsecured creditors, no recovery for subordinated creditors and no value for SAS AB’s existing shareholders,” the carrier said in a statement released at 11 p.m. Stockholm time on Tuesday. 

The airline also set out financial targets for the year having secured a $1.2 billion restructuring last fall with a consortium including Air France-KLM and private equity firm Castlelake LP taking a stake in the ailing company. The debt-burdened carrier had filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, high fuel prices and a pilot strike.

For the fiscal year 2024, SAS expects revenues of more than 48 billion kronor ($4.6 billion) with debt falling to a range of 22 billion to 24 billion kronor from as high as 39 billion kronor when it emerges from Chapter 11, which it expects to happen “around the end of the first half of 2024.” Liquidity is seen increasing to about 11 billion kronor, the airline said.