Gol Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA has struck a sweeping restructuring deal that will see its top lender, Abra Group Ltd., take over the Brazilian budget airline and get the company out of Chapter 11 next year.
The agreement announced last week would extinguish around $2.5 billion in debt and other obligations.
Gol said it expects to raise as much $1.85 billion in Chapter 11 exit financing which it will use to pay off an existing facility and fund the carrier’s exit from bankruptcy.
Gol intends to submit the proposal to a New York court overseeing its restructuring by the end of the year and currently plans to leave bankruptcy in April.
Abra, which is Gol’s largest secured creditor and the majority investor in Colombian airline Avianca Group International Ltd., has agreed to swap-out at least $950 million in debt for equity in the reorganized Brazilian carrier.
Gol said in a statement that Abra has also agreed to receive $850 million in take-back debt.
The proposed restructuring also has the support from a committee representing Gol’s unsecured creditors, the airline said.
The restructuring plan, which must be a approved by a bankruptcy judge, provides a path for Gol to leave bankruptcy protection with substantially less debt.
The company, which filed Chapter 11 in January, is one of the largest airlines in South America but has struggled with financial liabilities incurred from a drop in travel during the pandemic, substantial debt and Brazil’s high interest rate.
Gol shares have dropped over 87% year-to-date in Brazil trading, slumping after the company filed for Chapter 11 earlier in the year.
“Gol is slated to emerge from its Chapter 11 process with a dramatically improved liquidity position and a deleveraged balance sheet with a very competitive unit cost and strong network,” Abra Group Chief Executive Officer Adrian Neuhauser said in the statement.
The deal was announced weeks after Gol said it was close to resolving major issues in its bankruptcy with key creditors and was preparing to raise exit capital in the coming months.
Information for this article was contributed by Giovanna Bellotti Azevedo of Bloomberg News.