There was an abrupt turn in the refinancing of SAS on Wednesday, when the company's own advisers reported a
loan breach , default on a billion dollar loan and the danger that the money from ticket sales could stop.
Night to Thursday Norwegian time, the lender in the bankruptcy process, Apollo Global Management in the USA, submitted an official complaint to the court in New York. Apollo has provided SAS with bridging financing – a billion dollar loan during the bankruptcy process – which actually falls due on 26 December this year, and claims that SAS has defaulted on this loan.
Through the complaint, it emerges that the relationship between Apollo and SAS is at freezing point after the former lost the bidding war to become the new owner of SAS a few weeks ago.
- Apollo believes that SAS owes them more money than previously known in order to release them from the bridge financing.
- Apollo believes that SAS has broken an important "milestone" through the loan agreement and notified Apollo of this as recently as the day before the deadline expired last Saturday.
- Apollo claims SAS has threatened them with a lawsuit if Apollo's complaint were to delay the process of a refinancing, and thus take over the mortgage that the loan agreement includes.
- Apollo claims SAS and the airline's lawyers have objected to a reformulation of the text that the judge will rule on Thursday, and which will be more in favor of Apollo