Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Réunionese airline Air Austral on its restructuring, the main terms of which were agreed in a conciliation protocol signed in December 2022 by Air Austral, the French state, its controlling shareholder, various public creditors, banking partners and new investors.
The agreement, which includes all efforts made by the various creditors and Air Austral, was approved by the Commercial Court of Saint-Denis (La Réunion) on January 25, 2023.
The protocol and its approval will enable Air Austral to implement, in the coming weeks, the capital and financial operations planned as part of its restructuring, including:
- A capital restructuring and a new money contribution of more than €55 million, including Run Air's entry as majority shareholder – a new private company composed of a group of local investors and controlled by Deleflie.
- A restructuring of Air Austral's debt, including the write-off of a portion granted by various public and private creditors.
On January 5, 2023 the restructuring plan received a favourable decision from the European Commission for an aid grant by the French state to Air Austral, consisting of €119.3 million in restructuring and €17.5 million to compensate the company for damage suffered as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The French Competition Authority and the Commission des participations et des transferts have also agreed to the terms of the restructuring.
The White & Case team which advised on the transaction was led by partners Saam Golshani (Paris) and Julien Bensaid (Dubai & Paris) and included partners Yann Utzschneider, Estelle Philippi and Alexandre Jaurett (all Paris), counsel Estelle Jégou (Paris) and associates Amélie Jungbluth, Simon Martin-Gousset, Alexandre Martin, Claire Sardet and Cécilia Grosjean (all Paris).
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