The president of the Government of the Azores congratulated himself this Tuesday, 25th, on the delivery of a proposal for the purchase of Azores Airlines, but admitted the postponement of the company’s privatization, which is not expected to happen until the end of the year.
“It is necessary to talk again with the European Union because, naturally, all of this will lead to extension of deadlines and naturally there will be postponement. It is part of the nature of the market’s response”, stated José Manuel Bolieiro.
The leader of the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) spoke to journalists at the Regional Assembly, in Horta, after it became known that businessmen Carlos Tavares, Tiago Raiano, Paulo Pereira and Nuno Pereira submitted a joint proposal for the acquisition of 85% of Azores Airlines.
Bolieiro recalled that SATA’s Restructuring Plan envisaged the completion of the airline’s privatization by the end of 2025, but highlighted that the “market responds in the terms it responds to”.
“I continue to hope that everything goes well. Furthermore, I cannot help but be realistic if I do not recognize that there will definitely be postponements”, he added.
The leader of the regional executive ruled out the possibility of closing the airline if the proposal was “valid to be accepted”, when asked if closure was still a scenario.
“We must recognize and value the work done by the proponents themselves who did prior work. They are not making a proposal without knowledge of the reality. They carried out the dialogue, which also seemed very positive to me”, he reinforced.
Bolieiro was satisfied with the delivery of the proposal for the privatization of the air carrier and said that he will wait with “complete serenity” for the jury’s independent assessment.
“The effort that has been made so far has been worth it, namely in the transparent dialogue with workers, in defending their rights and in understanding the company’s future sustainability. I cannot say anything more than this level of satisfaction.”
According to a statement, “following the agreements reached with the representatives of the pilots and cabin staff, Carlos Tavares, Tiago Raiano, Paulo Pereira and Nuno Pereira submitted a joint proposal for the acquisition of 85% of Azores Airlines”, from the SATA group.
From this moment on, the four businessmen proposing will be represented by a single structure, called Atlantic Connect Group.
A source linked to the process explained to the Lusa agency that businessmen Tiago Raiano (Newtour tourism group) and Nuno Pereira (MS Aviation) – Newtour and MS Aviation consortium – initially presented the proposal for the acquisition of the Azorean airline and, at the beginning of this year, they joined 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 create “a single voice”.
The privatization of Azores Airlines was negotiated with the Newtour/MS Aviation consortium, with the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) admitting the possibility of private negotiation or the closure of the company, if an agreement could not be reached.
In June 2022, the European Commission approved Portuguese state aid to support the airline’s restructuring of 453.25 million euros in loans and state guarantees, providing for measures such as a reorganization of the structure and the divestment of a controlling stake (51%).