Virus-stricken airline SAS secures new public loan from Denmark and Sweden
Sweden and Denmark will issue a new loan of almost 300 million euros ($366 million) to Scandinavian airline SAS to keep it afloat through the coronavirus crisis, the company said Wednesday.
If approved by EU competition authorities, the cash infusion from its biggest shareholders will "create a liquidity buffer... a complement to other ongoing activities at SAS to reduce costs and strengthen liquidity," the carrier said in a statement.
Expected to reveal further losses when it publishes results for its February-April quarter on Thursday, SAS has already slashed 5,000 jobs -- or 40 percent of its workforce.
The new loan of 3.0 billion Swedish kronor follows a slightly larger credit of 3.3 billion in May last year, while a recapitalisation scheme launched in August saw Copenhagen and Stockholm expand their shareholdings.
Sweden and Denmark now each own 21.8 percent of SAS, up from 14.8 percent and 14.2 percent before the pandemic.
READ ALSO: Sweden and Denmark dig deeper to save SAS
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If approved by EU competition authorities, the cash infusion from its biggest shareholders will "create a liquidity buffer... a complement to other ongoing activities at SAS to reduce costs and strengthen liquidity," the carrier said in a statement.
Expected to reveal further losses when it publishes results for its February-April quarter on Thursday, SAS has already slashed 5,000 jobs -- or 40 percent of its workforce.
The new loan of 3.0 billion Swedish kronor follows a slightly larger credit of 3.3 billion in May last year, while a recapitalisation scheme launched in August saw Copenhagen and Stockholm expand their shareholdings.
Sweden and Denmark now each own 21.8 percent of SAS, up from 14.8 percent and 14.2 percent before the pandemic.
READ ALSO: Sweden and Denmark dig deeper to save SAS
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