SAS airline will no longer receive capital from the Swedish government-Minister


OSLO, June 7 (Reuters) – The Swedish government will not inject fresh capital into loss-making airline SAS and does not intend to be a long-term shareholder, Industry Minister Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson said on Tuesday at a of a press conference.

SAS, in which Sweden and Denmark each have a stake of around 22%, said last week that it had not made enough progress in its restructuring plan, dubbed SAS Forward.

“We want to be clear that we will not be injecting fresh capital into SAS in the future,” Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson said.

Sweden has pumped 8.2 billion Swedish kronor (780 million euros) into the airline over the past few decades, including through loans intended to save the group from bankruptcy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister will propose to parliament to allow SAS to convert its debt to the government into shares, he said.

The company said on May 31 it hoped to convert part of its debt into shares in order to raise 9.5 billion Swedish crowns, while warning of liquidity problems if it does not succeed.

The group is also seeking to reach agreements with the unions to reduce costs and make working hours more flexible as part of this restructuring.

“If the company cannot attract capital, because Sweden and possibly Denmark do not want to invest more money, it may be a step on the way to the grave,” wrote Jacob Pedersen. , Sydbank analyst, in a note to clients.

The Danish government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Report Terje Solsvik and Stine Jacobsen, French version Diana Mandiá, edited by Kate Entringer)





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