After the airline JetSmart announced on February 7 that it is interested in buying 100 percent of Viva Air, its controlling shareholder CastleSouth Limited concession that it is interested in starting an official negotiation process.
“We welcome Castlesouth’s quick response and look forward to building a viable option for Viva and travelers,” said Estuardo Ortiz, CEO of JetSmart.
(Also read: Viva Air will restructure its debts to achieve its permanence in the market)
In addition, JetSmart said that it maintains its interest in acquiring this airline, «within the framework of existing regulations and due process, in an expeditious and transparent manner,» after live air will announce that it will begin a business recovery process.
The company made this decision due to the crisis it is currently facing by adding to the effects of the COVID-19 and current macroeconomic factors that are public knowledge.
We welcome Castlesouth’s quick response and look forward to building a viable option for Viva and travelers
Also, the airline has not been able to access capital during the last nine months since it has not yet been possible to implement its integration with Avianca, which is still pending authorization from the Government.
«Viva accepts this voluntary recovery process, which lasts 90 days, in order to restructure your debts through a negotiation with its main creditors to continue operating under sustainable conditions that guarantee the continuity of the company”, he said.
He also stated that this decision comes after six months of waiting for the definition of the alliance with Avianca, which if approved would allow it to continue in the low-cost business by linking it to another group of airlines with weight in the region.
(Also read: The pulse between Avianca and JetSmart to buy the airline Viva)
In this way, he says, he could ensure the take care of jobs and reinforce its «commitment to generate higher levels of connectivity in the country at low cost on the basis of obtaining the required capital injection.»
After studying all the available alternatives in the face of the current situation, Viva Air assured that it enters this voluntary mediation process while waiting for the «Urgent» decision by Aerocivil of its alliance with Avianca.
And it is that on January 20 this authority annulled the decision made in the first instance in the integration process between Avianca and Viva Air. At that time, this operation was objected to because it represented risks to competition in the sector and the welfare of consumers.
Viva said that during this improvement it will continue to ensure the continuity of operations and the provision of its services and hopes to overcome this situation for the good of all its passengers.
