American Airlines has exercised all of its warrants in the Brazilian carrier Azul, giving it a stake of about 7.9%, The Rio Times reports, citing a regulatory filing.
Azul said on Tuesday that the move raised its capital by R$512.8 million, about US$102 million. It issued 31.8 million new shares to American and a further 432,551 to other warrant holders, leaving it with roughly 400.8 million shares in total. The warrants were rights to buy shares at a fixed price, granted under Azul's restructuring plan.
Azul recently went through Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States, which allowed it to reorganise its debts while continuing to fly. American plans to hold its shares through Azul's US depositary receipt programme. The price paid per share and the start date of a planned codeshare between the two airlines have not been disclosed.
Source: The Rio Times
