White & Case advises Air France-KLM on acquisition of non-controlling stake in Scandinavian Airlines

Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Air France-KLM, a leading global airline, on the acquisition of a 19.9 percent non-controlling stake in the share capital of Scandinavia’s leading airline Scandinavian Airlines (SAS AB).

The transaction follows the receipt of regulatory approvals in Europe and the US and enables SAS AB to emerge from its Chapter 11 reorganization and its Swedish restructuring proceedings.

The transaction was concluded by the Air France-KLM Group as part of a consortium of investors which also includes Castlelake L.P. on behalf of certain funds or affiliates, Lind Invest ApS and the Danish State. The members of the consortium now hold an aggregate 86.4 percent stake in the share capital of the reorganized SAS AB. They invested US$1.2 billion in the company, by subscribing for US$475 million of common shares and by purchasing US$725 million of senior secured convertible notes.

The Air France-KLM Group itself invested a total of US$144.5 million in SAS AB, by subscribing for US$109.5 million of common shares and by purchasing US$35 million of senior secured convertible notes. Agreements among the members of the consortium allow Air France-KLM to increase its stake to become a controlling shareholder after a minimum of two years, subject to regulatory conditions and the company’s financial performance.

The White & Case team which advised on the transaction included partners Michael Shepherd (Miami & New York), Jeff Gilson (Chicago), Jessica Chen (New York), Carl Hugo Parment, Henrik Wireklint, Martin Jarvengren, Johan Thiman (all Stockholm), Tilman Kuhn (Düsseldorf & Brussels), Hugues Mathez and Orion Berg (both Paris), counsel Richard Graham (New York) and associates Marcus Halling (Stockholm) and Zachary Smith (New York). Law clerk Joshua Butler (New York) also assisted on the matter.

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