Silver Airways (3M, Fort Lauderdale International) and Seaborne Airlines (BB, San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin) have announced that Silver’s acquisition of Seaborne’s business and assets has successfully closed.
Seaborne Airlines and its associated companies were forced to file for Chapter 11 in January this year after Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico's economy leading to significant reductions in the carrier's schedules and loss of revenue. Despite the filing, Seaborne continued its scheduled operations, with debtor-in-possession financing provided by one of Seaborne’s lenders, Volant SVI Funding LLC, a Delaware limited liability company affiliated with Versa Capital. It is recalled that entities created by Versa Capital acquired Seaborne from majority equity holder Montecito New York, LLC, an Arizona limited liability company, in June 2017. Versa Capital also owns a majority stake in Silver Airways with former owner, Victory Park Capital, continuing to hold a small non-controlling indirect interest in the air carrier, via AG340 Holdings LLC., a Delaware limited liability company.
As such, US Department of Transportation (DOT) filings show the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the sale of Seaborne to SB USVI, a subsidiary of Silver Airways, on March 27. The asset sale included USD5 million of debt cancellation, USD100,000 cash payment, the assumption of most liabilities, accounts receivable, inventories, airport facilities and leases, codeshare agreements, as well as the DOT economic authority and all other regulatory authority.
According to a joint communique, the combined airline will continue operating Silver’s route network in the Bahamas, Florida, and beyond under the Silver Airways banner and Seaborne’s route network throughout Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Caribbean under the Seaborne name.
“We at Seaborne are excited about this partnership with Silver Airways and the opportunities that it can provide,” Seaborne CEO Ben Munson said. “Despite the devastating impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, our resilient and dedicated employees at Seaborne have successfully restructured our company with the support of our loyal passengers. We are well positioned to grow with an airline that shares our common goals of success, and are very pleased that San Juan and the U.S. Virgin Islands will continue to be significant for Silver and Seaborne.”
The new carrier's fleet constitutes 31 aircraft, including Saab 340s and DHC-6-300 seaplane aircraft. Silver Airways will shortly deploy its first ATR42-600 into service.
