Air France-KLM puts the north by taking, as expected, the control of the Scandinavian company SAS. The Franco-Dutch group announced, Friday, July 4, that it was going to bring its participation to 60.5 % of the capital of SAS. Since October 2023, Air France-KLM already held 19.9 % of the Scandinavian company acquired for $ 144.5 million (around 122.6 million euros). On the occasion of this capital operation, the company led by the Canadian Ben Smith will acquire the participations of the two investment funds Castlelake and Lind Invest.
Thanks to its entry to the capital of SAS, two years ago, Air France-KLM held an option to become the majority shareholder of the Scandinavian company. With the arrival of SAS, Air France-KLM performs an excellent operation. Since 2023, and the contribution of 1 billion euros by its shareholders, the Scandinavian company has succeeded in its recovery. “SAS displays excellent performance following its successful restructuring, and we are convinced that its potential will continue to grow thanks to further integration within the group”said the Franco-Dutch company in its press release.
With the reinforcement of SAS, which will become a new subsidiary like KLM, Air France intends to develop “Synergies thanks to integration into all of the fields of activity, including loyalty programs, and beyond only commercial functions”. With a fleet of 138 aircraft, SAS serves 130 destinations and transported 25 million passengers in 2024. It recorded, in 2024, a turnover of 4.1 billion euros. By comparison, the same year, Air France-KLM achieved a turnover of 31.5 billion euros and transported some 98 million passengers.
Large maneuvers
This acquisition is a new illustration of the concentration movement in the European sky started as soon as the COVVI-19 is released. The big airlines of the Old Continent, British Airways (Group IAG), Lufthansa and Air France-KLM, engage in a very disputed race to grow as quickly as possible. British Airways had taken a step ahead by swallowing the Spaniard Iberia in 2010. Lufthansa reacted her last years by putting his hand successively on Swiss, Austria Airlines, the company Lattone Air Baltic and, in January, Ita Airways (ex-Alitalia). The company led by Ben Smith participates in its turn in this great restructuring by taking control of SAS.
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