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Air France-KLM to buy almost one fifth of SAS

Air France-KLM is set to buy a stake of almost 20 percent of Scandinavian Airlines after the airline launched a search for investors to help it exit bankruptcy protection.

Published: 4 October 2023 05:58 CEST
Air France-KLM to buy almost one fifth of SAS
The Danish state will also inject more money into SAS, but the Swedish state has so far been unwilling to do it. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix/AFP

The group, along with the Danish state, will invest $1.175 billion in the airline, with Air France-KLM investing $144.5 million to buy the 19.9 percent holding.

SAS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, an option available because of its operations there, in July 2022 as it reeled from Covid travel bans and a costly pilots strike.

It also embarked on a cost-cutting plan and a hunt for new investors, saying in September that some had shown “substantial” interest in coming aboard.

“This cooperation will allow Air France-KLM to enhance its position in the Nordics and improve connectivity for Scandinavian and European travellers,” Air France-KLM chief Ben Smith said in a statement.

“Air France-KLM is determined to play an active role in the consolidation of European aviation,” he added.

In July, Smith also reiterated his interest in buy a stake in Portugal’s flag carrier TAP, which is being privatised after a rescue by the government.

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Why North Korean hackers could leave Sweden short of alcohol this weekend

If you're thinking of quitting the booze, now may be a good time, as Sweden may run low on alcohol in just a few days.

Published: 24 April 2024 09:33 CEST
Updated: 24 April 2024 11:10 CEST
Why North Korean hackers could leave Sweden short of alcohol this weekend

The reason? Problems down the distribution chain, as a result of a ransomware attack by a North Korean hacker group on Skanlog, a logistics firm that delivers to Sweden’s state-run alcohol monopoly Systembolaget, reports business site Dagens Industri.

Systembolaget confirmed to The Local that this may have a knock-on effect on supplies.

“This is one of our distributors, they deliver up to 25 percent of the alcohol. But we do have other suppliers as well, we have to scale up the deliveries. So I cannot say exactly what the shortage will look like in the stores,” Systembolaget press officer Sofia Sjöman Waas said.

Not only the weekend is coming up, but also Walpurgis Night on April 30th, a popular party day in university towns.

“It is too early to say what will happen. Small stores around the country have one delivery once a week and this might not affect you at all. Other stores have deliveries every day,” Sjöman Waas told The Local.

It’s unlikely that shelves will run completely dry, but some products – mostly wine, but also beer and liquor – may be out of stock.

“But in general our consumers don’t buy a lot. They come in, they buy a couple of bottles, and they consume it within a couple of days or a week,” said Sjöman Waas.

Article by Emma Löfgren and Gearóid Ó Droighneáin

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