US private equity company Indigo Partners and Icelandic carrier Wow are progressing toward cinching an agreement under which the former will invest in the financially troubled budget airline.
Indigo emerged as a potential investor on 29 November after it said it had reached a tentative deal to acquire Wow. That came on the same day that Icelandair's proposed acquisition of its rival collapsed.
Firming the deal is dependent on completing due diligence. Representatives from Phoenix-based Indigo, which is led by long-time industry heavyweight Bill Franke and has invested in several low-cost airlines, spent two days with Wow's managers, Indigo says in a 5 December update.
During those meetings, Indigo reviewed Wow's "business and opportunities of the airline going forward", it says.
"The overall process is progressing and both parties are working to finalise the investment. Issues remaining include Wow's planned network development, vendor contracts including aircraft leases and certain waivers from Wow's bondholders," Indigo says.
"These have been two very good days with detailed discussions around Wow's current business and how we would envision it going forward," adds Indigo managing partner Franke.
Wow chief executive Skuli Mogensen says his company "can learn a lot from Bill Franke and his team on how to build a successful low-cost airline".
"I don't think we can find a better and more-experienced partner," Mogensen adds..
Source: Cirium Dashboard
