It is an understatement to say that the company from Reunion has come a long way. Only to the State, the company owed 220 million euros! Suffice it to say that no rescue plan was possible without the abandonment by the State of all or part of this debt.
In a position of strength, the State wanted to take advantage of this to kill two birds with one stone: at the same time save Air Austral and Corsair, which was also going through great difficulties.
But assuming that adding two 2CVs is not how a Ferrari can be built, the Réunion Region, which owns the company through SEMATRA, refused. The confrontation was long and difficult. But Huguette Bello endured and his stubbornness paid off. The state gave in. All that was left was to convince Brussels. It was no small feat. European Commission officials are known for their intransigence in respecting competition rules, to the point that many doubted Air Austral’s chances.
Arguments Developed by The Reunion Delegation
The exchanges were numerous. We have to believe that the arguments developed by the Reunion delegation headed by Vice President Normane Omarjee, among others, must have been good since they ended up winning the decision.
The aid of 119.3 million euros from the French State will not be made through a contribution of fresh money in the capital of the company, but thanks to the abandonment of part of the debt of 220 million.
The cash, for an amount of 55 million euros, will come from the 30 million contributed by the pool of investors reuniteses gathered around Michel Deleflie, who will thus become the majority shareholder with 55% of the capital. And the last 25 million will be contributed by the Region (15 million), the Department (5 million) and the CCIR (5 million).
As Joseph Brema, the company’s new CEO, said in a press release sent this afternoon to the entire workforce, a new era is dawning, that of restructuring. The steps to follow will be rather administrative and legal to allow the official entry into the capital of Reunion shareholders. With an appointment set for next January 13 for an extraordinary general meeting and hearing of the Commercial Court scheduled for next January 25 for the approval of the conciliation protocol.
Then, from the end of January, the new Air Austral formula will be able to really take off again. With an important upcoming deadline: the negotiation with Airbus and Boeing of the renewal of the fleet when the lease contracts of the current Boeing 787 and 777 expire, in 2 or 3 years.
This article is originally published on .eseuro.com
