After bond owners and lessors, shareholders also said yes to the bailout plan. This gives Norwegian fresh capital and gets rid of high debts.
There was still resistance on Friday. One in four groups of bondholders voted against Norwegian Air Shuttle’s plans. On Sunday, however, the management managed to convince the rest with improvements. The battered airline was also able to reach an agreement with a large proportion of the lessors over the weekend.
The procedure is always the same: Donors and suppliers must agree that their assets (i.e. Norwegian debts) are converted into equity. So the heavily indebted Norwegian can bring the skewed balance back into balance. In addition, the government in Olso made this a prerequisite for state-secured loans amounting to the equivalent of more than 260 million euros.
Shareholders say yes
The most important step happened on Monday (May 4th). The extraordinary general meeting of shareholders also approved the plan with a large majority of 95 percent, which in addition to converting debt into capital also includes a capital increase. The measures will give the company more than 10 billion crowns in new funds.
So Norwegian is saved for the time being. However, the airline plans to keep the majority of the fleet on the ground until March 2021. Until then, she plans with a minimal flight plan on the short-haul flight, which is operated by seven aircraft.
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