Brazilian carrier Azul Linhas has set its sights to buy the entirety of Chile’s LATAM Airlines Group, according to media reports. David Neeleman, founder and Chairman of Azul also added saying that they are ready to make an offer if the creditors fail to agree on the restructuring plan. Prior to this, Azul only showed interest in acquiring LATAM Brazil.
A few months back, when Azul expressed its interest to buy LATAM Brazil, Azul’s CEO John Rodgerson, argued that the Brazilian government should look into the possibility of merging both carriers. He also mentioned that those other countries have carriers with over 70 percent of the domestic share and that’s not harmful.
David Neeleman told the media, “We know exactly what we will offer. We would buy the whole asset. I believe that the group has a lot of value, and we’re not thinking of splitting or selling divisions.
“If LATAM gets to an agreement with its creditors, then there wouldn’t be an Azul plan, but there are signs telling us that they are not reaching an agreement, that’s why they are still requesting extensions of the exclusivity period. If LATAM’s management doesn’t want Azul, the easiest way to do it is to give the creditors what they want, which is to recover as much as possible.”
But, unlike its peers, Avianca and Aeromexico, LATAM is yet to present its plan of reorganisation. Last week, the judge of the Southern District Court of New York approved the latest request for an extension to the LATAM airlines so that it can present its plan by November 26.