Aeroméxico Officially Leaves The Mexican Stock Exchange

One of Mexico's largest airlines, Grupo Aeroméxico, officially left the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) on Dec. 28 and is apparently looking for a more liquid market in the United States, Mexico News Daily reported.

The company's bankruptcy plan led to the delisting. According to Mexican law, corporations must delist from the Mexican stock exchange before issuing new company shares.

A plan to revoke share registration and withdraw the company's stock exchange listing as part of a buy-back scheme was accepted by its shareholders in June.

The agreement ended with Delta Airlines holding a 20% share, down from the 49% it previously had. The company's major stakeholder at the moment is the private equity company Apollo Global Management.

While the airline had emerged from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process in March, the court formally closed the case on Dec. 22, stating that Aeroméxico’s reorganization plan “has been substantially consummated.”

In the middle of the Covid-19 outbreak and related travel restrictions and slowdowns, the company initially filed for bankruptcy in June 2020. The airline had to file for bankruptcy due to the lack of financial backing from the Mexican government.

Several other regional airlines faced similar situations, including Avianca and LATAM Airlines Group. Some airlines, such as Interjet and TAME, ceased operations.

The voluntary reorganization of Aeroméxico took 20 months. To better control its debt during this period, it entered into new agreements with lessors, manufacturers, workers, and creditors. It received capital contributions and unsecured loans totaling more than $3.7 billion by the time the Chapter 11 process was complete. The airline intends to invest almost $5 billion over the following five years.

Aeroméxico CEO Andrés Conesa said, “we look forward to starting a new chapter in our company’s history, backed by a sound financial base, solid capital structure, and investors who have full confidence in our future. As we move forward, we will not only continue to streamline our company to become even more sustainable, resilient, and competitive, but we will also significantly expand our network and fleet.”

Between January and September of 2022, Aeroméxico reported a net loss of around U.S. $200 million. Nevertheless, it was able to turn a profit in the third quarter of the year, when revenues totaled U.S. $1.07 billion.