São Paulo – The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) approved the purchase of 10% of total shares of the Latam Group by Qatar Airways, the state-owned airline based in Doha, Qatar. The green light by the Brazilian competition regulator was required for the Qataris to become shareholders of the company, which was created after a merger between TAM and LAN airlines.
The agreement between Qatar and Latam was announced in July, in an aviation fair in the United Kingdom, and was approved in August by shareholders. The Arabs paid USD 613 million for 10% of the company’s total shares, with the company now moving forward with the issuance of new shares to conclude the deal.
Right after the approval by CADE was made public, Latam issued a statement saying it will issue 61,316,424 new shares on Friday (18) worth USD 613 million.
Latam and Qatar already had a partnership through the airline international alliance Oneworld, in which both are partners. The Arab state-owned airline also has a stake in IAG (International Airlines Group), owner of Iberia and British Airways.
Qatar has a direct daily flight from Doha to São Paulo that later goes on to Buenos Aires, Argentina. The company travels to over 140 destinations around the world. Latam travels to over 135 destinations in 24 countries.
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
