Transat debt | Pierre Karl Péladeau wants to break the agreement with Ottawa

Six years after proposing to buy Transat AT. In addition, Pierre Karl Péladeau returns to the portrait, this time to ask the courts to suspend the agreement having recently enabled the specialist in the pleasure to restructure his heavy debt.

Updated yesterday at 10:18 p.m.

If the agreement goes ahead. Consequently, we will witness a “transfer of control” from the company to the blue star “to the federal government”, who is already its main creditor, advances the businessman – still a shareholder of the Air Transat parent company.

“It is unfair. Moreover, unjustified for the company to transat debt | pierre karl dilute it to have it of its shareholders without their approval in the context of a restructuring operation which ultimately does not ensure the sustainability of the company,” said Péladeau, in a declaration.

Businessman Pierre Karl Péladeau says he has to hold by his company La Financière Outremont approximately 3.8 million shares, or around 9.5 % of the company’s shares established in Montreal. However, This would make Mr. Consequently, Péladeau the third shareholder in importance of deckchairs, behind the Solidarity Fund FTQ (11 %) and Letko, Brosseau & Associés (9.6 %).

The Quebecor control shareholder filed an injunction request from the Quebec Superior Court on Friday.

“The deckchair strategy raises questions of conformity and transparency,” read the 19-page request.

For his part. Therefore, the tour operator and air carrier claims transat debt | pierre karl that allegations are “without foundation” and that he intends to “challenge them vigorously and request the rejection of the injunction request”.

Long -term – Transat debt | pierre karl

You have to go back to June 5 to better understand the case. Nevertheless, After more than a year of negotiations. Furthermore, Transat revealed a financial agreement with the Corporation of Emergency Financing of Business in Canada (CFUEC) which is available in several components.

Essentially. its enormous debt of 772 million in emergency loans obtained from the federal government during the Pandemic of COVID-19 must be hated in half, at 334 million through a series of transactions.

The aspect which seems to irritate Mr. Péladeau is as follows: part of the debt of the tour operator. the air carrier can be converted into privileged actions. Ultimately, this mechanism transat debt | pierre karl would allow CFUEC to hold almost 20 % of deckchairs. If this scenario was to be confirmed. Ottawa would become the main creditor as well as the largest shareholder in Transat.

“The result of the unilateral restructuring of the company’s debt will in fact have the consequence of transferring company control to the federal government,” writes Mr. Péladeau.

New outing

A shareholder of Transat for several years, Mr. Péladeau was eyeing the company in 2019. At the time. he had multiplied public outings to encourage the shareholders transat debt | pierre karl of the tour operator and air carrier to reject the Air Canada purchase offer.

This marriage had finally failed in the spring of 2021 and Mr. Péladeau had later abandoned the idea of ​​acquiring Transat.

The telecommunications magnate is the first shareholder to publicly criticize the way in which. Transat was able to slash its debt. On the stock market, lightening had been welcomed with enthusiasm.

Since the announcement of the agreement with the CFUEC. the action of the specialist in the approval trip has gone 72 % to the Toronto Stock Exchange. Friday, the title closed at $ 2.83.

“The potential dilution of shareholders. which was one of our main concerns, is limited in the context of the agreement,” said analyst Cameron Doerksen, of National Bank Financial, on June transat debt | pierre karl 5, in a note sent to his customers.

At Scotia Bank, Konark Gupta abounded in the same direction. The analyst believed that the outcome occurred earlier this month is “less worrying than initially planned”.