Atlantic Connect Group offers €17M for 85% of Azores Airlines capital

The Atlantic Connect Group consortium has submitted a €17 million bid for 85% of Azores Airlines’ share capital, which includes nine of the airline’s aircraft, it said on Tuesday.

According to a source from the consortium speaking to the Lusa news agency, the bid submitted on Monday proposes the purchase of 850,000 shares in the Azorean airline, for €20 per share.

“The bid for 85% was €17 million. It includes international and domestic flights, but excludes inter-island flights. In total, nine aircraft are included in the deal,” the same source revealed.

Businessmen Carlos Tavares, Tiago Raiano, Paulo Pereira and Nuno Pereira announced on Tuesday that they have submitted a joint bid to acquire 85% of Azores Airlines.

According to a statement, ‘following agreements reached with representatives of pilots and cabin crew, Carlos Tavares, Tiago Raiano, Paulo Pereira and Nuno Pereira submitted a joint bid to acquire 85% of Azores Airlines,’ part of the SATA group.

From this point on, the four bidding businessmen will be represented by a single structure, called Atlantic Connect Group.

A source linked to the process explained to the Lusa news agency that businessmen Tiago Raiano (Newtour tourism group) and Nuno Pereira (MS Aviation), Newtour and MS Aviation consortium, initially submitted the proposal to acquire the Azorean airline and, at the beginning of this year, joined forces with businessmen Carlos Tavares (former CEO of Stellantis) and Paulo Pereira (owner of Quinta da Pacheca), creating the new entity Atlantic Connect Group to represent them and provide ‘a single voice’.

On 7 August, when the results of the public tender were announced, it was revealed that the competitors Atlantic Consortium (which was ultimately excluded) and Newtour/MS Aviation had offered €7.026 and €6.60 per share of the airline, respectively.

The Azores Government requested that the European Commission extend the deadline for the privatisation of Azores Airlines to 31 December 2026.

In May 2024, the Azores Government announced the cancellation of the privatisation tender to launch a new one, claiming that the company was valued at €6 million at the beginning of the process and is now worth €20 million, an intention that did not materialise.

In June 2022, the European Commission approved Portuguese state aid to support the restructuring of the airline, amounting to €453.25 million in loans and state guarantees, and providing for measures such as a reorganisation of the structure and the divestment of a controlling stake (51%).