Singapore airlines has launched a massive capital raising that will ad over $13 billion to the carrier’s balance sheet.
Singapore is offering 5.3 billion Singapore dollars ($3.72bn) in equity and up to 9.7 billion Singapore dollars ($6.8bn) in convertible notes - bonds that can be converted into equity stakes in the company. The fundraising is being underwritten by Temasek, which owns about 55 percent of the group.
The carrier has also obtained a 4 billion Singapore dollar ($2.8bn) bridge loan facility with the country's biggest lender, DBS Group Holdings Ltd, to support near-term liquidity requirements.
Singapore Group chairman Peter Seah said: “This is an exceptional time for the SIA Group. Since the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak, passenger demand has fallen precipitously amid an unprecedented closure of borders worldwide. We moved quickly to cut capacity and implement cost-cutting measures.
“The strong commitment and support from our staff and our unions as we work together on measures to tackle this crisis have been remarkable. I am heartened that our people are doing everything they can, in these most difficult of times, to support our customers and sustain our operations.
We have also worked closely with the Singapore government to bring Singaporeans home safely during this time. At the same time, we are also working with various parties to enable our staff on no-pay leave to have other income opportunities.