Air France-KLM secures $7.5 billion in loans to get through crisis
Air France-KLM Group and Air France have secured $7.5 billion in financing to help it remain solvent during the Covid-19 crisis, the airline group announced in a statement.
The financing comes in two parts: a French state-backed loan of roughly $4.3 billion (4 billion euros) granted by a syndicate of six banks (guaranteed by the French state up to 90%) and a direct shareholder's loan of roughly $3.2 billion (3 billion euros) from the French state to the airline group.
“This aid mechanism, which remains subject to approval by the European Commission, will enable the Air France-KLM Group to provide Air France with the means necessary to meet its obligations by continuing its transformation in order to adapt in a sector that the global crisis will severely disrupt,” the statement said.
"This is not a blank check. There are conditions of profitability," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in an interview on French network TF1. "Air France must become the most environmentally-friendly company on the planet."
The statement also said negotiations with the Dutch government over support to KLM are ongoing.
According to data from February 2019, the French state holds a 14.3% stake in Air France-KLM and the Dutch government has 14%. Delta owns 8.8% of the company.
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