United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare) has acquired an additional 4.32% stake in Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras (AD, São Paulo Viracopos) bringing its overall shareholding percentage to 8%. The Brazilian LCC said in an SEC filing on Friday, April 27 that the US carrier had acquired the additional equity via a private preferred share transaction with Hainan Airlines (HU, Haikou).
In a separate disclosure to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Hainan Airlines said it would transfer 20% of the preferred Azul stock equity it holds (14,534,502 preferred shares) to CALFINCO Inc., a wholly-owned SPV of United Continental Holdings, Inc.
Following its completion, Hainan Airlines said it would still hold 58,138,006 Azul shares, equivalent to a 17.28% stake, down from the previous 21.6%. The transaction was valued at USD138,320,011.
