GOL Linhas Aereas
Gol received U.S. court approval on Wednesday for a $1 billion loan after resolving the concerns of a group of lenders that feared the new loan would sideline them. Background on this case can be found here. We reported on the imminent bankruptcy here. Gol chose the US courts because Brazilian bankruptcy law does not include lessors, who account for most of its short-term debt. The airline owns two of its 139 aircraft. Its largest lessor is AerCap, which has 30 aircraft in the fleet.
This comes after a January 29th announcement that it received approvals from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in the Company’s legal financial restructuring initiated on January 25, 2024. The approvals granted by the U.S. Court at the “First Day” hearing ensured GOL would continue operating in the ordinary course during the process.
The U.S. Court approved interim access to the US$950 million in debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing committed by members of the Ad Hoc Group of Abra Bondholders and certain other Abra bondholders. The Court approved $350 million of the $950 million in financing granted by members of the Abra group, which is a holding company controlling Gol and Avianca.
Gol’s initial deal, as described above, did not please everyone. Reuters reports, “The objecting lenders to kick in an additional $50 million on the new loan and receive interest on that new debt, Gol’s attorney Justin Cunningham said at a hearing in Manhattan.”
The court was told the airline suffers from long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel and has had difficulty sourcing sufficient Boeing 737 Maxs to meet a surge in post-pandemic demand for air travel. We also covered the issue of Gol’s assets being sought after.
Additional information regarding the Company’s court-supervised process is available at www.GolFirstForAll.com.
Views: 0
