Colombia's largest airline, Avianca, and its majority-owned domestic affiliate SAM are to merge fully and operate under the Avianca brand.
During a shareholder assembly on 31 July in Barranquilla, both companies opted to pursue a full merger, including the operational integration of SAM's fleet of 15 Fokker 100 aircraft into Avianca's domestic network.
But it has not yet been disclosed whether minority owners of a 6% shareholding in SAM not controlled by Avianca will receive shares of the combined company or if they will be paid out.
This merger is the final step of Avianca's domestic consolidation strategy, which started with the merger with Aces earlier this decade, included the absorption of Medellin-based freight carrier Tampa Cargo last year and ultimately gave it a clear local leadership challenged only by AeroRepublica, the Colombian subsidiary of Panama's Copa.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
