SA Express’s provisional liquidation extended to early 1Q21

South African Express (XZ, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) will remain in provisional liquidation until January 28, 2021, according to an extension granted by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on October 28, 2020. The extension was requested by Aiviwe Ndyamara of Tshwane Trust, the provisional liquidator of the stricken state-owned carrier, to allow for more time to conclude the sale of assets of the airline. Movable assets, including eight owned non-airworthy CRJ200ERs, are to be auctioned off on November 18, 2020. This is the third postponement of the final liquidation, which will also allow a bid for the rescue of the airline to proceed. The preferred bidder, Fly SAX, aims to buy the company with its valid operator’s licence and air operator’s certificate. A final liquidation would mean the loss of these licenses. Fly SAX has offered a purchase price of ZAR 50 million rands (USD2.9 million) for the company in the form of a bank guarantee and proposes to raise a further ZAR250 million (USD14.6 million) in equity through a crowd-funding platform. This process is now scheduled to happen in January 2021 to allow the provisional liquidators time to compile the sale of shares agreement, which has to be submitted to the South African Department of Public Enterprise for comments and amendments.