Apollo Global Management Seeks to Join Winning SAS Consortium

Apollo Global Management, a US investment firm, is expressing interest in joining the consortium that recently secured a winning bid for over 86% ownership of SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup). The consortium, consisting of Air France-KLM, Castlelake, Lind Invest, and the Danish state, offered USD1.175 billion in Chapter 11 exit financing to acquire the majority stake in SAS.

Apollo Global Management had previously provided a USD700 million debtor-in-possession (DIP) loan to SAS in 2022. While Apollo failed to delay a recent hearing for court approval of reimbursing USD3 million to the winning consortium, it is actively seeking to join the group. The extent of Apollo’s potential stake and additional investment remains uncertain.

The winning consortium’s bid is subject to various regulatory and customary approvals, including finalizing investment documents, court approval of a disclosure statement and Chapter 11 reorganisation plan, and a Swedish reorganisation of SAS AB. Both SAS and Air France-KLM declined to comment on the matter.