Gol, one of Brazil’s main airlines, announced a restructuring plan that foresees its delisting from the São Paulo Stock Exchange, after completing the judicial recovery process in the USA in June.
The company announced, on Monday, in a statement, that the plan, already approved by the Board of Directors, depends on approval at a general meeting of shareholders, in a vote initially scheduled for November 4th.
If approved, Gol will be fully owned by a company directly dependent on Abra, a conglomerate that controls both Gol and the Colombian airline Avianca.
The business also includes Gollog, the company responsible for Gol’s cargo transportation, and the Smiles miles program.
Current minority shareholders will have the option of selling their shares and abandoning the company or maintaining minimum stakes in the new group, which will be a separate entity and fully controlled by Abra.
The transaction will not be expensive for Abra, since, after a capital increase carried out in May, in which only 0.76% of minority shareholders participated, the group ended up with more than 80% of Gol’s shares.
The company argued that the plan will strengthen Gol’s management capacity, reduce costs and allow greater strategic agility at a time of operational recovery.
In June, Gol concluded the judicial recovery process in the USA, with the approval of a restructuring and refinancing plan presented after a voluntary request for bankruptcy protection, in January 2024.
Gol needed to restructure its debt, which, in September 2023, amounted to 20.2 billion reais (around 3.19 billion euros).
Last January, Gol and Azul, two of Brazil’s three largest aviation companies, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding that was described as an “initial phase” of the negotiation process for a potential merger.
The participation of each airline in the company resulting from the merger will depend on an economic assessment that will take into account the capital structure and revenue forecasts of each airline at the time of completion of the process.
After the merger, the two airlines will continue to exist independently, being able to share aircraft, to increase air connections.
Gol, a pioneer of the ‘low cost’ model in the region, transported 30 million passengers to 65 destinations in Brazil and 16 international destinations in 2024.
The airline has a fleet of 139 aircraft, all Boeing 747s, and approximately 14,500 employees.
Azul, in turn, has 180 aircraft and flies to more than 160 destinations.
The third largest player in the Brazilian airline sector is Latam, which would be the main rival of the future company that could result from a merger.