Air France-KLM to receive a majority share in Scandinavian Airlines Sas

Air France-KLM is planning to increase its share in the Scandinavian airline SAS to 60.5 %, the latest step towards integrating the fragmented aviation sector in Europe as tankers seek to enhance its position against competitors.

Franco Airlines in Franco said it intends to increase its share from 19.9 % currently by obtaining the risks carried by the major shareholders Castlek and Lind Invest.

The purchase is expected to be closed, subject to organizational permits, in the second half of 2026, Air France-KLM said.

The company said that the value of the investment will be determined at the closure, based on the latest financial performance of SAS, including basic profits and net debt. He refused to give details of these standards.

Stephen Zat, head of financing, told analyst analysts in a call, expecting Air France-KLM to generate the euro consisting of three numbers in the synergy of the SAS share.

Zat said that the deal will be funded from cash or “regular vanilla bonds” and will not affect the drive to reduce the group’s hybrid debts. He said, “We have a wide space for that.”

SAS welcomed Air France-KLM.

“European monotheism should happen, and we are very happy to be part of that,” said Anco van der Wraf, CEO of SAS, told Danish Browcaster TV2.

He said: “In the current preparation, where Air France-KLM is 19.9 %, still is a competitor.” “With the new share, which exceeds 50 %, we can really benefit from all of these synergy and provide these benefits to customers.”

SAS said it would continue to invest in its fleet and network.

In 2023, Air France-KLM said it would invest about 144.5 million dollars for the initial SAS appetite, which enhances its presence in Sweden, Denmark and Norway with the option to become a controlled shareholder after at least two years, according to the conditions.

SAS came out of Chapter 11, bankruptcy protection in August 2024.

Air France-KLM said in a statement that the carriers have already been exposed to trade cooperation since the summer of 2024. SAS control in Air France-KLM will allow the Scandinavian market and create an additional value for shareholders.

“After the successful restructuring, SAS performed impressive performance, and we are confident that the airline’s capabilities will continue to grow through deeper integration within the Air France-KLM group,” said Ben Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM.

The deal comes at a time when executive officials are looking for more monotheism in the fragmented aviation industry in Europe, which they say is necessary to compete with us and competitors in the Middle East.

SAS owns 138 aircraft in service and carried more than 25 million passengers last year, which led to revenue of 4.1 billion euros ($ 4.8 billion).

Air France-klm Group will have the majority of seats in the Board of Directors, while the Danish state will keep 26.4 % in SAS and its seats on the blackboard.